Amon Tobin - Foley Room

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Slated for a release in late April, leaked a few weeks ago (first single, Bloodstone, apparently gets a release on iTunes today), recorded with the Kronos Quartet - no thread yet?

01. Bloodstone
02. Esther's
03. Keep Your Distance
04. The Killer's Vanilla
05. Kitchen Sink
06. Horsefish
07. Foley Room
08. Big Furry Head
09. Ever Falling
10. Always
11. Straight Psyche
12. At The End Of The Day

After a couple listens I'd say I might prefer it to Out From Out Where or Supermodified - thoughts?

― lucas pine (Ignatius), Wednesday, 10 January 2007 05:23 (nineteen years ago)

i'd like this album more if it was a concept album about mark foley

― critique de la vie quotidienne (modestmickey), Wednesday, 10 January 2007 05:49 (nineteen years ago)

It's one of his best albums since the first two. I'm enjoying it.

― wmlynch (wlynch), Wednesday, 10 January 2007 06:44 (nineteen years ago)

For me it doesn't sound enough like a new album--everytime I'm about to get into it, here comes the obligatory drill'n'bass parts again. And then I get zapped right back to 1998. Or his last 3 albums. Which are brilliant, but I really wish he'd explore more, less with the boom-bap-boom riddim, which he clearly has down pat. Perhaps that's wishful thinking, but he has such great instincts with samples...

― Jubalique (Jubalique), Wednesday, 10 January 2007 18:44 (nineteen years ago)

I'm interested.

― Jordan (Jordan), Wednesday, 10 January 2007 18:50 (nineteen years ago)

You know, no one who is a fan of Rene Fleming ever goes, "Man, she's great but I wish she'd belt out some character Broadway tunes, so I don't fully get why Amon Tobin should be under any obligation to abandon any aspect of drill 'n bass.

― The Android Cat (Dan Perry), Wednesday, 10 January 2007 18:52 (nineteen years ago)

For the record, Renee Fleming has done plenty of non-operatic works. But even if she hadn't--plenty of great musicians grow and change in dramatic ways, and I don't think it's unreasonable as a fan to see more development in an artist. And I'm not suggesting Capitol K or Jamie Lidell degrees of change.

Of course Amon Tobin isn't under any obligation, that'd be silly, but I really would love to hear more intriguing rhythms or contrasts than he's put out on this album. It's good, and I'll likely buy the whole thing when it comes out, but it's not what I had hoped for after the middling Chaos Theory.

― Jubalique (Jubalique), Wednesday, 10 January 2007 19:00 (nineteen years ago)

"non-operatic works" is not precisely the same thing as "belting character Broadway showtunes"; I intentionally picked something that Renee would not do because it is nowhere near her forte. She has a signature style that permeates all of her work; Amon Tobin also has a signature style that permeates all of his work. That's really all that I was driving at.

― The Android Cat (Dan Perry), Wednesday, 10 January 2007 19:06 (nineteen years ago)

I was actually trying to be politic, but Fleming has done Gershwin, Rodgers/Hart, Foster, and Andrew Lloyd Webber(!), so I don't know how much more Broadway she could get. That said, I dunno what in my original post suggested that I wanted Tobin metaphorically to "do Broadway." But perhaps we're now beating a dead horse. I suppose we can both agree that Tobin (and Fleming) is great, but disagree with the degree to which the new album satisfies.

― Jubalique (Jubalique), Wednesday, 10 January 2007 19:16 (nineteen years ago)

Has she done "Mungojerrie and Rumpleteaser" or "Memories"? Not all Broadway songs are pretty, hence "character songs". My point was not that she didn't do Broadway; my point was that she did Broadway stuff that fits the way she sings. You're not likely to see Renee Fleming singing "Wouldn't It Be Luvverly?" but she'll probably do "The Sound Of Music" at the drop of a hat.

That was my point about your comment re: Tobin and drill 'n bass taking you back to 1998; it's an integral part of what he does and I don't think it's reasonable to expect him to abandon it just because it's no longer the flavor-of-the-month of his overarching genre.

But yeah, this is really beating a dead horse, especially since my entire argument is rhetorical; I haven't heard the album yet.

― The Android Cat (Dan Perry), Wednesday, 10 January 2007 19:34 (nineteen years ago)

i'd like this album more if it was a concept album about ~~mark~~ dave foley

― stoked for the madness (nickalicious), Wednesday, 10 January 2007 19:36 (nineteen years ago)

Aha! I get it--misinterpreted then, what I meant was that not enough has changed for me since 1998/1999 with his work. Not that drill'n'bass is 1998. That doesn't bother me at all--I quite like 1998.

Phew, I'll stop the chain by starting a new thread proposing that Radiohead get over their angst, which zaps me back to 1997, and that they should do a proper character Broadway album. With props.

Actually, this is definitely a new topic, but what exactly is a "character song"? I.e.

― Jubalique (Jubalique), Wednesday, 10 January 2007 19:50 (nineteen years ago)

glad u guys like my album

― am0n (am0n), Wednesday, 10 January 2007 19:57 (nineteen years ago)

A character song (as I meant it) is one performed in a (usually funny-sounding or non-pretty) voice. These are often done by characters in the show with strong accents (see Eliza Doolittle for the first half of "My Fair Lady" or, even better, her father with "Get Me To The Church On Time") or the comedy sidekick (the dude who won the Tony for best supporting actor for that spelling bee show, for example). These songs are usually remembered because of the narrative impact on the show as opposed to any stellar singing on the parts of the people playing them.

― The Android Cat (Dan Perry), Wednesday, 10 January 2007 20:09 (nineteen years ago)

I don't think Supermodified sounds very drill n' bass (it's all samples and the sounds are left pretty raw) or '98 (yeah there are fast beats but not a lot of trad jungle rhythms, and there are more hip-hop/downtempo beats anyway). The only thing that puts me off is that he sometimes sounds a little too glossy/car commercial-y.

― Jordan (Jordan), Wednesday, 10 January 2007 20:10 (nineteen years ago)

Yikes, I don't think I want to hear anyone do "character" songs out of character. I have no idea why anyone would want Renee to do that, and I rescind my dream of a Radiohead "character" album.

And I liked Supermodified a lotlot--I thought that was particularly a great album, and I wanted to see what would come next. From maybe the end of Permutations, like with "Nova," through his Supermodified stage, and then I was just waiting to see what would come next. I was hoping to hear him keep the great instincts with sound design and samples and do more varied pacing, tempo, and structure. And Chaos Theory wasn't what I expected--and so far, Foley isn't quite it either (I've only heard about half the album.) But you're right, not 1998, maybe more like 2000.

Also, isn't "Golfer Vs. Boxer" and "Precursor" off of Supermodified drill'n'bass? Or maybe I need an ILM lesson in proper etymology.

― Jubalique (Jubalique), Wednesday, 10 January 2007 20:24 (nineteen years ago)

Aww crap, I just wrote about beating a dead horse, apologies to Android Cat. Feel free to bludgeon me.

― Jubalique (Jubalique), Wednesday, 10 January 2007 20:24 (nineteen years ago)

It's funny, my favorite AT track is probably "Nova" (which I can listen to over and over again), which has like exactly none of the elements that initially made me a fan of his work.

― baron kickass von awesomehausen (nickalicious), Wednesday, 10 January 2007 20:38 (nineteen years ago)

Haha no worries!

― The Android Cat (Dan Perry), Wednesday, 10 January 2007 20:40 (nineteen years ago)

I LOVE Nova! That song/piece is brilliant, and I liked the Bebel version of it. That's when I was like, wow, Amon is really unique and different than the other artists who mine similar veins within Ninja Tune. (Ok, really, him, and Funki Porcini, and Coldcut, Anti-Con, and, and, and...) Not better, just different.

― Jubalique (Jubalique), Wednesday, 10 January 2007 23:14 (nineteen years ago)

eight months pass...

I am so totally digging this entire record.

― libcrypt, Monday, 8 October 2007 21:24 (eighteen years ago)

one year passes...

Is seeing AT "live" pretty much the same as watching a DJ, or are there instruments involved?

― Badder Meinhof Syndrome (libcrypt), Thursday, 29 January 2009 20:47 (sixteen years ago)

when I saw him once it was a DJ / laptop style gig but I don't know if every show of his is like that

― dmr, Thursday, 29 January 2009 20:50 (sixteen years ago)

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