Mirex/Cock Rock Disco
Duran Duran Duran's "A God Among Men" opts for a moremartial arts inspired succession of kick drums, sharp snare blasts andsynthesizer gurgles delivered from all directions. This relativenewcomer seems to be the only contributor who understands that at twicethe speed of most normal "songs" a minute and a half is sufficient timeto deliver all the blows necessary to completely tire out anyonelistening. By using the same samples over and over amongst splattereddrum breaks, "Dyslexic Funky Droid" by Repeater wears out it's welcomeat about the two minute half-way point. Pure's own contribution, "Fight'Em" stands out and warrants its seven and a half minute length bybeing a potent mixture of his relatively recent foray into abstractanalog synthesizer explorations and his beginnings as one ofbreakcore's originators. He uses extended sections of beatless frayedelectronic circuitry to build up tension in between bursts of Amenbreak trickery. This use of dynamics lends the track a more composedfeel, yet it doesn't lack in sheer power. Curtis Chip's "Chainsawpanda"is the most subdued track of the lot, with a steady 4/4 grooveproviding a solid backdrop for complex drum programming. JasonForrest's "Sadist Hop" is successful in that he paces himself a bit,starting out the track with a mid-tempo hip hop beat complete withfunky piano loop. The former Donna Summer actually waits 25 secondsbefore attention defecit disorder takes over and causes him to throwdrum fills from every imaginable source into the mix. Forrest's skillsat chopping samples into tiny crumb-size pieces allows him to get awaywith using source material such as the guitar riff from The Eagles"Life in the Fast Lane." The juxtaposition of little reminders of theexcesses of music's past, rather than the mashing up of entire sectionsof instantly recognizable songs, with beat manipulation that isunmistakably current is what makes Forrest's work unique andrefreshing. Although some of these tracks may be forgotten years fromnow as genre exercises, in the present they collectively represent thesound of a new wave of skilled producers that don't take themselves tooseriously and aren't afraid to make music that is at once incrediblyintricate and simply a perfect excuse for jumping up and down.samples:
- Jason Forrest - Sadist Hop
- Pure - Fight 'Em
- Duran Duran Duran - A God Among Men
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