(fax) Air 5

[Martin Jones]

Hey it's gotta be a great series if it has a sub-category entitled "wacky
French things". ;-)

On 2/8/07, Trevor Cordes <trevor at tecnopolis.ca> wrote:
>
> Air 5:
>
> Very first listen, didn't much like it.  Mediocre.  Some annoying bits.
>
> Boy, was I wrong!  This one didn't take much time at all to take off!
>
> T1 miffed me at first.  More 60's India-crazed sitar drug music.  But the
> sitar is actually fairly subdued and the sweeps are quite mesmerizing.
> The melody is very... something... early FAX?  What does it remind me of?
> Interesting Silence 1 beats.  Not a skipper as I at first thought.
>
> T2 is the "wacky French" track, like t4 on Air 4.  But this one is sultry
> & swanky and a bit more mysterious.  WTF is up with that doorbell?  Crazy!
> This track is probaby the best wacky French thing in the whole series.  I
> like it!  The only bad thing I can say is the voice isn't quite as nice as
> the previous in the series.  Maybe because it's more front & center?
>
> T3.  Wow.  What is this like?  It's hard, noisy, buzzy and ravey, like
> some mid-era Namlook live solo work.  The beat is driving and gripping.
> Eastern melodies on top.  Trancey simple melodies later on.  Near the end
> we get some great mid-era (someone pin this down for me) Namlook wacky
> beats that really make this one a gem.  May seem a bit long, but it
> changes so much and is really quite catchy.
>
> T4.  Totally unimpressed on first listen.  Totally love it now.  Total
> opposite of what vocal tracks are usually like: catchy at first, boring
> later.  We were all scared for nothing: Tiffany's vocals are as
> unobtrusive as you can get and very well done.  The Orb's vocal tracks
> should be as good!  The background synths are rich and dark and some of
> the builds and sweeps are astounding.  The quirky staccato background
> melody really works.  The bleeps work.  The PK solo lead synth 3/4 through
> is wonderful.  There's so many layers: like 3 different melodies happening
> at once.  Good to be played loud or in headphones.
>
> If this track is the reason for the long delay, it was well worth it.
> Perhaps Tiffany "tied" up Namlook!
>
> Now for a total fanboy over-analysis: listen at around 3:10.  We hear the
> strange distortion effect used so much in the Move D / Namlook 8-10.  I
> swear it's being applied to a vocal and I swear it's PK saying
> something... can anyone make it out??  Or am I completely nuts...
>
> T5.  Again, fanboys, what does this remind us of?  It's Re:sonate!  It's
> like the radio dance remix of Re:sonate.  No surprise I like it.  OK, so
> the beat is one of the most dance-happy things PK has done in 10 years,
> but I have nothing against dance beats when mixed with other useful
> goodies.  In fact, the choice of beat is quite bold and daring.  The
> Re:sonate synths are wondeful.  The Re:sonate piano lead melody is
> wonderful.  The sweepy Re:sonate synth melody on top of the piano is
> brilliant!  Might be _the_ track of the album!
>
> This goes to show how long PK was working on this release: he obviously
> was inspired to this track around the same time Re:sonate was being made,
> given his penchant for temporal-similarity.
>
> T6. Like 2 but less wacky and much nicer melody and supporting echoic
> synths.  Forget about "reprise", this is a distinct and worthwhile track
> in its own right.  Potential hats-off to JM Jarre for the inspiration?
>
> Total: quite a ride!  The range of styles on this album is vast yet the
> whole thing seems cohesive, which is quite shocking and seemingly
> impossible.  The clear, and surprise, winner of this round.
>
> DTS: really comes alive on this one.  Need a chance to play it LOUD!
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