Zero 7: Simple Things

In April 2001, the British electronica duo Zero 7 released their debut album 'Simple Things.' In the style of the French electronica duo Air, much of the album combines synthetic lines alongside more typical acoustic writing with a steady beat and overlaid vocals. The album was certified gold within 4 months, having sold more than 100,000 units.

Zero 7: Simple Things

The first track of the album, 'I Have Seen,' combines bass grooves with acoustic guitar and drums to create a strong backing to the vocals which lead the track. Like their contemporaries, this album uses themes of surreality throughout, particularly noticeable in this track.

Moving on to the next track, 'Polaris,' the use of electronics is seen more clearly, underpinned once more by a steady, albeit subtler, beat. The title track, 'I Have Seen,' which comes later in the album continues to exhibition the duo's creative use of electronics alongside string writing to create a more dramatic and melancholy atmosphere.

Various elements of downtempo composition and free improvisation occur throughout the album, but for this reviewer the subtle influence from ambient music adds the most interest in this release. This is seen clearest in 'Distractions' but is featured in several other tracks. The variety of influence diversifies further into jazz in tracks such as 'End Theme,' ultimately creating a varied and interesting album which can introduce electronica for those who are uninitiated in such music.

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Royksopp: Melody A.M.

Royksopp are an Electronica duo which hail from Tromsø, Norway. The album here featured, 'Melody A.M.,' released in 2001, is the duo's critically acclaimed debut. Containing 14 tracks and a healthy 1:08 runtime [the US special edition is reviewed here], the album produces some memorable material, so much so that 'Eple' (meaning 'Apple') was even licensed by Apple Corp for the welcome music to OSX Panther.

One of the most interesting aspects of the album is the composer's ability to combine downbeat electronica which saw a great rise in popularity during the early 00's, with etherial electronic soundscapes. The textural complexity seen throughout the album also illustrates a high degree of compositional awareness from the duo not commonly seen so early in an acts' career.

The album from the very first track, 'So Easy,' exhibits an affinity with beat based electronica but the sombre string pad atmospheres seen in later material such as 'In Space' adds a further dimension to the album stylistically. In terms of the album's instrumentation and construction, there is a clear influence from the French duo Air (see the 'Love 2' review here) but further developing their sound with a catchier edge which has been met with popularity in the cases of 'Remind Me' and 'So Easy' to name just two examples.

Having extolled the virtues of the bands stylistic prowess, the final track, '40 Years Back/Come' presents a disjointed retrospect in two parts, ultimately concluding the album with a mysterious soundscape more common in Ambient music.

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Enigma: 'Love Sensuality Devotion - The Greatest Hits'

The Enigma Musical Project is estimated to have sold in excess of 50 million albums and this 2001 greatest hits compilation release 'Love Sensuality Devotion' certainly contains some noteworthy material. The musical project themselves, led by Michel Cretu, is known for the New Age music influenced writing which combines dance and traditional chant elements, a highly original premise at the time of the act's debut.

Enigma: Love Sensuality Devotion

The album begins with the brief reference to the 'Enigma horn' which has featured on every album previous, before introducing 'Turn Around,' which in typical Enigma style combines electronic textures and vocals with world instruments, a strong shuffle beat and not forgetting the use of gregorian chants - a stalwart of the Enigma sound.

The Album continues to include the expected hits such as 'Sadeness Part 1' which was almost a worldwide number 1, alongside some Enigma's lesser known output. The album does however give a clear sense of intelligent design through the 'flow' and continuity throughout. Most of the album fuses New Age elements with Dance music beats which fans will have grown to expect but tracks that veer away from the dance influence, such as 'Principals of Lust' and 'Return To Innocence,' prove to be some of the most rewarding musical experiences of the album, certainly worth of a listen.

For a review of Enigma's debut release, 'MCMXC A.D.,' click here.

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