Resilience

Next up is the newest album by the head of the label Tigerbeat6 (and I think at least three other labels), Kid 606 aka. Miguel Depedro. A friend of mine was telling me about an interview he had read recently with Kid 606 and found that Depedro's approach to music in the past has been to look at upcoming trends in electronic music, such as his classic mash ups that seem to have garnered him so much attention a while back, and how he will record an album that would essentially be his take on that current trend. I also hear that he puts out everything he makes which I assume means that if he works on an album he doesn't sit on it, he puts it out. I can see the positives and negatives of this approach. On one hand it's good to keep up with what the people want in the area of electronic music because it seems to evolve at cutthroat speeds these days. Every time I read a review of a new electronic music cd I see some weird new sub genre listed as an influence. On the other hand I could see this lessening the true value of the music he releases because he may put out an album before it has a chance to evolve and get polished over time.



Enter Resilience. This album is supposed to be the album that he has always wanted to release. One that he seems to be willing to stand behind as being his own. If you check the liner notes you will see that it has been dedicated to his mom! So after hearing all of the talk about how he was releasing a record that was not simply a statement on the state of electronic music I got pretty exited to hear it. A few months prior to its release I picked up a 10" record of his called Sugar Coated and turns out the title track of the record was a song on the new album. I took this as a good thing because I liked the laid back approach to the song on the vinyl.

On first listen I heard exactly what I had imagined I would hear after hearing the 10". Every song on the album seemed to fit right in with that aesthetic. Simple, somewhat relaxed and for the most part very analogue feeling all around. I found myself instantly comparing the album to Richard James' (Aphex Twin) Analord series with it's warm analogue synth lines. Ill leave the Analord series for another review but for now ill just say that they were good but not amazing. I find myself enjoying this record more than the Analord work. The album is one of those that kind of seep into whatever your doing as your listening to it. By this I mean that you might catch yourself typing to the beat or getting lost in the feeling presented by the song.

The whole album is so warm and comfortable, even listening to it on the little built in speakers on my powerbook it feels lush and welcoming. Some may find that the record is under developed because of its simplistic approach but I feel as though its all very tightly knit and well thought out.

The standout tracks in my mind would have to be the smooth progression of the head nodding track "Spanish Song", the wonderfully funky synth line that was laid over "Xmas Funk", the calm jam that is "Sugar Coated", the upbeat pseudo dub track "Banana Peel", and the oh so subtle beat hiding in "Short Road Down".

Don't take that list of favorites as the only things I enjoy about the album, it works so well as a whole and every track brings it's own flavor to the mix so if your out for a nice album to put on and relax as you move to the beat, if that makes any sense at all, then this would be a good one to grab.

I need to work on my conclusions. I've always had trouble with conclusions.

Heres a link to the album in iTunes so you can preview it and purchase it if you like it:


Note: Please support artists that I mention on this site and anywhere else for that matter. Don't pirate music. It's just ridiculous if you think about it. These people are trying to make a life making music the same way you make a living at your job. They need support from the people that enjoy there music so they can continue to do so. thanks!