http://www.noizemag.com/index.php en stephen@noizemag.com Copyright 2010 2010-06-22T02:32:28+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/zingles/tiesto_-_in_search_of_sunrise/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/zingles/tiesto_-_in_search_of_sunrise/ This is a bit of a flashback, but the unmixed versions have just been released and they’re so worthy of mention, I couldn’t resist. The first volume of In Search of Sunrise was released in May 2000, and the sequel followed quickly in December. What began as just another mixed-set series became a worldwide phenomena and one of the most successful compilation series ever. Now on its eighth installment and handed off to Richard Durand, the In Search of Sunrise series flawlessly captured in 2000 a snapshot of the best in trance and progressive. It brought to light so many artists and producers that defined the genre; it also provided first light to tracks that later became classics and dancefloor staples. The first two volumes were recently re-released as unmixed digital packages, all tracks separate and in their full length glory, and it just serves to remind of how successful Tiesto was at selecting standout tracks amongst all the uninspired and nearly identical club releases that flood the bins. Volume 1 set the tone of the series with tracks like “Anomaly (Calling Your Name),” famously used as the backdrop for Jason Biggs and Shannon Elizabeth’s shaved beaver scene in the film American Pie. Billie Ray Martin’s Honey was remixed by Chicane, which went on to be included in a zillion compilations and was given a update remix treatment in 2003. BT’s “Mercury & Solace” comes from when he was still more of an indie artist and hadn’t yet achieved his mainstream crossover appeal. Volume 2 followed the initial release’s success with a deeper sound, with tracks like Rui Da Silva’s “Touch Me” featuring vocals by Cassandra Fox (or Cass now), which even today remains a staple and has been remade and remixed endlessly. Salt Tank’s beautifully lush “Eugina” was remixed by Michael Woods — another track that has been included on a zillion compilations. And the new vocal mix of Cass & Slide’s “Perception” turned the intricate, nearly 11-minute instrumental original into a haunting poem by Naimee Coleman. 2010-06-22T01:32:28+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/zingles/soldier_of_love/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/zingles/soldier_of_love/ Sade, the band, is one of those acts that does it the way I think it should be done — artists, not revenue-generating stars. The band had not produced an album since 2000’s Lovers Rock. What motivated the creation of Soldier of Love wasn’t any kind of obligation; it was because they had something to say. Isn’t that the way art is supposed to be? Sade Adu is one of those vocalists who could sing the phone book, and people would sit and listen, so the band will always have that going for them. And despite a decade separating the release of this and the last album, theirs is a sound and an atmosphere that no one forgets once they’ve experienced them. So no matter how much time they put between releases, there will always be an audience. Soldier of Love was touted as the band’s new direction in sound, but to be honest, it sounds like good-old tried-and-true Sade. Not a bad thing, mind you. The album’s first single, also titled “Soldier of Love,” has an incredible chunky beat and extremely minimal instrumentation, which frames Sade’s voice gorgeously. The 9-track remix package is less mainstream and more creative, incorporating chilled electronic beats, deep house, and several guest raps. 2010-04-26T19:13:25+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/zingles/believe/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/zingles/believe/ Morgan Page is a withholder. Over the last eight years he’s built an immense fan base for his particular brand of foggy, moody progressive House by applying it to a zillion remixes for disparate artists like Jason Mraz, Madonna, Alanis Morissette, Jeffree Star, Jody Watley, Yoko Ono, Nelly Furtado and Stevie Nicks. To name a few. But with all that demand, his own artist work gets perpetually pushed to the side and we’re left panting at the mere mention of something native with  his name on it. Believe began with the tease of the initial singles “Fight for You” and “Strange Condition” (awesome cover of Pete Yorn), and fulfilled its promise with the album’s full release in all its murky glory, and does not disappoint. Now staple vocalist Elisabeth Morris or “Lissie” appears on several of the album’s vocal tracks, but she’s also joined by a group of impressive guests, including Télépopmusik’s Angela McCluskey, deep House darling Samantha James, trip-hop crooner Natalie Walker, and the dynamic Matt Alber. Standout tracks include “Believe,” “Back to Life,” “Only Human,” and “Tell Me Why.” 2010-04-26T19:10:25+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/zingles/once_upon_a_night/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/zingles/once_upon_a_night/ Holland’s got it goin’ on. Between Ferry, Tiesto, van Buuren, and those wooden shoes, I don’t know what’s not to love. Oh, and the legalized drugs, prostitution and gay marriage. Bless the Dutch. And Corsten continues to represent his country in the best way possible with this gorgeous two-disc set highlighting the sound that dominates Europeans and their weekends. What marks this particular release as noteworthy is not how sparing the vocals are, but how much you don’t miss them. This is why we love trance. Unlike House, which positions the beat and percussion as the focal point, trance focuses on the melodies and uses the beat almost like a metronome to give the ambience structure. Vocals exist throughout both discs — but aside from a handful of full vocal tracks, they are used as textures or repeating elements. A hooked exhale, a stuttered hum … it all lends itself to creating this breathtakingly intimate atmosphere where you feel that the music is enveloping you, touching your skin with amorphous melodies and an angel’s voice. It’s magic. 2010-04-26T19:08:25+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/zingles/the_hopeful_machines/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/zingles/the_hopeful_machines/ BT is like Sade, he puts out albums when he’s got something to say. Constantly striving to reinvent and innovate, BT is a producer/artist/programmer whose name alone turns heads. I remember reading about the reaction Tori Amos had to her manager when she first heard his treatment of her vocals on their 1996 collaboration, “Blue Skies.” It was something like, “Holy shit, you have to hear this…” His sound has been imitated endlessly since his mainstream recognition — which I’m sure in no small way motivates his perpetual progress in sound and audio engineering. Following This Binary Universe, on which he played with very extended track times and purely instrumental soundscapes, These Hopeful Machines feels like a merger of that intention with the pop sensibilities of 2003’s Emotional Technology. The double-disc album contains 12 songs total, most of which clock in at over 10 minutes, and blend his passions for gorgeous ambience atop complex beats, and the dance-rock hybrid that will always be his hallmark. BT does his own vocals amidst guest performances by Christian Burns, Andrew Bayer, Jes, Kirsty Hawkshaw, Ulrich Schnauss, Rob Dickinson, and The Psychedelic Furs. 2010-04-26T19:06:25+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/zingles/the_elements_of_freedom/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/zingles/the_elements_of_freedom/ I’m not implying anything when I say this, but no one can write a love song like a gay person, and if Alicia is not gay, it’s a disservice to our community. There is a total self-abandonment that seems a hallmark of gay love, a starkness to the emotion that comes with finally finding love amidst the feelings of fear and secrecy—a trait most clearly exemplified by the severe pathos of Morrissey—that is very present in Keys’ music. This is Alicia’s third album since 2001, and not one album has ever failed to provide me with at least one, if not several, songs to lament, long and love so pointedly that I feel a deeper understanding of myself for the song’s addition in my “life playlist.” The influence of the Grammy for “No One” is evident on several tracks, most notably “Doesn’t Mean Anything”: The usually syncopated R&B bass line has been simplified to the 4-4 beat used on the award-winning song. The album’s character is mid-tempo and contains ballad tracks perfect for those late-night moments with another (or just yourself). Be sure to pay special attention to “Empire State of Mind (Part II) Broken Down,” the sans-rap, all-vocal alternate of the radio version featuring Jay-Z, which fully deserves a radio presence of its own. 2010-02-13T06:41:24+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/zingles/animal/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/zingles/animal/ This girl is going to own 2010. Ke$ha is all the fun of Lady Gaga but without the pomp, theatrics and feigned profundity. She’s the girl who danced on a table at the frat party; the girl who crawled the length of the bar while downing everyone’s shots; the girl who rode in the trunk from one party to the next because at least there she could keep drinking. Ke$ha’s Animal brings to the new decade all the careless fun danceability of the ‘80s, but with the heart and soul to back it up.  The album harnesses pop’s new obsession with electro sounds, along with its teen-strength love affair with Auto-Tune and severe vocal editing, and creates the soundtrack to 2010 nightlife. She does the sloppy drunk fun thing with “Tik Tok,” “Take It Off,” “Blah Blah Blah,” and “Party at a Rich Dude’s House” (about a party at Paris Hilton’s in which she threw up in the closet). But she also shows that the party girl does have some specifics in mind after the lights come on with songs like “Your Love Is My Drug,” “Stephen,” “Dancing With Tears in My Eyes,” and “Blind.”  All in all, you can expect this album to be the go-to at every pool party this summer. 2010-02-13T06:40:24+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/zingles/rated_r/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/zingles/rated_r/ A therapist once told me after a break-up, “Don’t let go of your anger. Your anger will give shape to all the emotions you’re feeling right now. It will give you strength when you feel weak and broken.” Clearly someone said these words to Rihanna after having had the crap kicked out of her. Though thus far not nearly as commercially successful as her previous releases, “Rated R” manages in 13 tracks to be her most coherent, impacting and resonating piece of work to date. From start to finish, the album approaches the myriad emotional responses Rihanna experienced during and following her tumultuous relationship with Chris (“Why the hell am I not incarcerated?”) Brown, from every possible angle.  She proclaims her resilience in “Hard” and “G4L,” reaffirms who she was before the media frenzy in “Wait Your Turn” and “Rockstar,” and reminds us that through the abuse she also loved in “Stupid in Love,” “Cold Case Love” and “The Last Song.” She even flirts with the idea of the temptation of another woman on “Te Amo.” The disc’s incredible lead single “Russian Roulette” equates being with Brown to holding a loaded gun to her head. Don’t believe the lack of hype. This album is gold. 2010-02-13T06:38:24+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/zingles/the_fame_monster/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/zingles/the_fame_monster/ GaGa’s ear-popping rise to legend status continues with The Fame Monster. This EP was originally intended as a “tide you over addendum” to her original release, The Fame. But it has already managed to outshine all former radio singles with the career-defining “Bad Romance.” The remainder of the album sounds like perfect permutations of album tracks from The Fame, including “Monster” (sounds like “Poker Face”), “Speechless” (sounds like “Brown Eyes”), “Dance in the Dark” (sounds like “I Like It Rough”), and “Alejandro” (sounds like an updated version of Ace. Also included is “Telephone,” a duet with Beyoncé. Produced by Rodney “Darkchild” Jerkins, it presents a more urban radio version of GaGa and a viable next incarnation of the Lady. All in all, no one could have asked for a better follow-up to one of the biggest albums of 2009. From this point forward, all top albums should be followed up with an EP of similar material just to keep the ball rolling. 2010-02-13T06:36:24+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/zingles/space_cowboy/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/zingles/space_cowboy/ One of the genius producers behind Lady Gaga’s ear-popping sheer vertical rise to fame, Space Cowboy re-releases and revamps his initial Japan-only release “Digital Rock” with reworked production and an expanded tracklisting.  The sound is largely homogenous, a blend of Euro pop, rock-inspired elements and severely auto-tuned vocals, but broken up by different guest vocalists, samples and hooks.  At a run time of just under 38 minutes, the album plays like a continuous party soundtrack and could probably be played on repeat without anyone being the wiser.  Guest vocalists include Natlia Kills, Chelsea of the Paradiso Girls, Cinema Bizarre, Chentelle Paige, Cherry Cherry Boom Boom, Kee, Vistoso Bosses, Nadia Oh and LMFAO.  “Falling Down” and “I Came 2 Party” have already been released as the lead singles with remixes by FrankMusic, Robot to Mars, DJ Dan, Starkillers, Jump Smokers, Discotech and David Garcia. 2009-12-29T03:37:51+00:00