Depeche Mode: Violator

By 1990, British Synthpop group Depeche Mode had been active for a total of 10 years, having released six studio albums in that time. Their seventh album, 'Violator' came on sale in March 1990, spawning two of the band's best selling singles to date: 'Personal Jesus' and 'Enjoy The Silence.'

Depeche Mode: Violator

The first track on the album, also the fourth single to be released from it, 'World In My Eyes' quickly establishes the slightly dark and surreal nature of the entire album, combining extensive synthetic elements with a strong sequenced groove. This typical use of instrumentation for the band contrasts with the first single from the album, 'Personal Jesus,' which is heavily influenced by blues music and features prominently an electric bass and guitar in lieu of purely synthetic derivation of sounds.

'Waiting For The Night' comes later in the album, exemplifying the brooding and dark quality of the album, not least due to the use of restricted instrumentation and passive accompaniment. This track leads on to the second single to be released from the album, 'Enjoy The Silence,' undoubtedly a highlight of the album. In this track, the band reference some of their earlier work through the initial rhythmic foundation offered by a sequenced synthesiser and sophisticated use of additional electronic elements. The track also ends with a more experimental extended postlude which hails back to the band's earlier work.

At a point in their career in which the band was already well established, such a successful release contributes to the band's long standing successful image. The band's later tour, the Tour Of The Universe also makes use of several tracks from Violator and is reviewed here.

Save on Delicious

Chicane: The Best Of Chicane

Chicane, the British electronic act, is best known for their material which fuses dance, trance and ambient musics to create a combination of chill out and uptempo material in their various releases. 'The Best Of Chicane' is their 2008 compilation album, celebrating their biggest hits between 1996 and 2008.

Chicane: The Best Of Chicane

The album begins with the band's first ever single, 'Offshore,' released in 2006. This mimics some of Tangerine Dream's more ambient work in its approach, but refines the style and lays idiomatic dance beats under the repeated phrases. Unsurprisingly, this particular track features both in a number of dance and chill out compilations.

Following 'Offshore' comes 'Bruised Water,' a collaboration between Chicane and Natasha Bedingfield. This compilation showcases a number of collaborations which the band have undertaken throughout their career, including their 2006 single 'Stoned In Love' featuring Tom Jones. The album, which contains 18 tracks lasting over an hour, serves as a fitting retrospective for the versatile work produced by Chicane, including a variety of their more commercial dance releases alongside more ambient inspired works such as 'Saltwater.'

The album concludes with possibly the most ambient track of the compilation, 'Early,' clear in its further use of trance/chill out writing. This track lends a sense of tranquility as the album draws to a close and, for fans of ambient music in particular, is well worth a listen even if in isolation from the rest of the album.

Save on Delicious

Sepia Filter: Figure Eight

The Sonic Music Review is proud to feature once more the work of an emerging artist who submitted a track for review. The American Electronic artist Blake Miller, working under the alias of Sepia Filter, notes in their bio "Sepia Filter often contains an element of sadness or melancholy, but lately inspiration, hope, and destruction. The music is born out of the battle between these modes." In this particular track, the notion of destruction and conflict between emotion is particularly pertinent.

Sepia Filter: Figure Eight

The Track begins with a grumbly bass riff which continues throughout, quickly developing with a steady  beats in the style of Dr. Dre, whom Sepia Filter notes are a source of inspiration. There also lies a notable Kraftwerk influence through the use of sophisticated timbres and evolving sonic elements. As the piece develops, the composer recontextualises the mood of the piece and introduces new thematic material. While the talkbox-esque lead timbre could possibly be refined to fit more effectively in the mix, it illustrates one of the tracks strengths: suggested melody - the small melodic fragments work best due to the way they create material greater than the sum of its parts.

As the track reaches its climax, the theme of chaos and destruction is shown clearly through the approach to composition which employs multiple competing musical elements. This is reconciled, returning to previous material which develops as the musical elements fade to expose simply a ticking clock. The creation of dysphoria within the piece is achieved well but the variety seen throughout serves as the greatest credit to the artist.

To read more about Sepia Filter and listen to available tracks, click here.

Save on Delicious

Calvin Harris: I Created Disco

While the chart performance of the 2007 debut album by Scottish artist Calvin Harris was comparably modest when compared to other recent debut albums, 'I Created Disco' is uncommon in its composition and even its production, having been created entirely on an Amiga system.

Calvin Harris: I Created Disco

The album begins with 'Merrymaking At My Place,' overt in its intentional disco references. Throughout, Harris uses a clear electric bass line with typical disco drum patterns underpinning the repeated vocal phrases. The following track, 'Colours' continues with the heavily synth led nature of the album. According to a recent interview, the lyrical content of this track refers to a man dissatisfied with women who wear no colour.

The tracks 'Acceptable In The 80's' and 'The Girls,' both released as singles from the album, received widespread airplay as well as use on the small screen. Underpinning both tracks is the album's origins in 80's synthpop with clear influences from acts such as Visage and The Human League. In general, the album would benefit from greater variety rather than a succession of homogenous material. This is seen briefly in the penultimate track, 'Loves Souvenir,' which is reminiscent of synth-based funk music. Sadly however, even this relief from the monotonous style of the rest of the album is highly repetitive and the effect of variety is lost.

Overall, for a 00's debut album, Harris' writing is highly unusual, with several tracks worth a listen.

Save on Delicious