Music » Big Beat Music

Release Date: 1998-10-27, Audio CD, Om Records

Release Date: 1997-08-05, Audio CD, Fontana Island

Surrender kicks off with a nervous, vibrating whine that brings to mind the first three seconds of Hendrix's "Foxy Lady." But it's just a tease; on their third album, techno's Chemical Brothers have all but turned their back on the rock muscle that earned 1997's Dig Your Own Hole gold status in the U.S. Oh, there are guest rock vocalists galore--New Order's Bernard Sumner, Mazzy Star's Hope Sandoval, and Oasis's Noel Gallagher--but only the latter brings out the crunching big beats that the Chems all but invented. The rest of Surrender hews closer to the thinner, synthesized textures of the electro revival that's swept the dance-music world. Much of the time that's just swell. The leadoff track, "Music: Response," is a seamless trip back to 1985, complete with vocoderized singing and Morse-code beeps. And Sumner's "Out of Control" replicates the thrill of hearing the gloomy Joy Division morph into a swell synthpop band. But without the propulsion that their trademark aggression usually provides, the Chems just barely come up with enough ideas to carry the listener all the way through an album, much less rock a dance floor for an hour at a time. --Jeff Salamon

Release Date: 1999-10-12, Audio CD, Astralwerks

Release Date: 2001-06-05, Audio CD, Fontana Mca

Cardiff-based DJ-producer Lincoln Barrett (a.k.a. High Contrast) builds new beats and pieces into the once majestic style known as drum and bass, combining color-saturated technique, warm studio technology, and clever samples for a spectacular two-disc debut. Many producers try to bring a more song-oriented approach to drum and bass, but Barrett pulls a few old-school tricks with a new-school view that beats them all silly. The warp-speed "Make It Tonight" sounds like Mary J. Blige time-stretched and tipsy. "True Colors" fuses bracing math rock with warm R&B sensibilities, while "Passion" combines corny atmospherics with breathy females and smooth-jazz sonics. "Return of Forever" is full-on sleaze funk, with a groove as deep and sweaty as a Brazilian street parade. With his magician's programming skills and dazzling tune sense, Barrett ups the ante for drum and bass wannabes the world over. Disc No. 2 includes alternate mixes and two additional tracks, "Remember When" and "Full Intention." --Ken Micallef

In this fast and tasty chaser of an EP, the Chemical Brothers indulge themselves with an epic B-side, a live track, and three nasty remixes, along with two enhanced video tracks for "Star Guitar" and "The Test" (both off their previous full-length release, Come with Us). Two versions of "Star Guitar" besides the video version are included, too. The first is a slam-bang remix that kicks off the record. The second, extended live version brilliantly shreds the song's giddy chorus, earning it consideration as definitive version of the song. More straightforward than some of their recent work, AmericanEP has the Brothers focused squarely on the beat, letting the sheer thump of tracks like "H.I.A." and "Electronic Battle Weapon 6" (a remixed version of Come with Us's "Hoops") drive their momentum. The EP serves as an exuberant reminder of just how lethal these two DJs can be when they let it rip. --Matthew Cooke

Release Date: 2003-08-19, Audio CD, Thirsty Ear

San Francisco, Om Records Announces the Release of "Air Farina" the Long Anticipated Debut Artist Album of all Original Material from Mark Farina. Designed as a Transcontinental Flight Through the Mind of Mark Farina, "Air Farina" Takes the Listener from Take off to the Wildest and Most Exotic Places Visiting Friends Kaskade, People under the Stairs, Lance Desardi and More. This Album Includes Released Mark Farina Tracks!

This is the first in the Ubiquity Studio Session series. Taking inspiration from classic library records recorded by top session musicians and produced by companies like Music de Wolfe and KPM, here are 25 super dynamic mood setting tracks perfect for the dance floor, bachelor pad, or movie soundtrack. Many of these obscure library records are highly collectible for their one or two tracks, but on this release, Ubiquity compiles all killer, no filler tunes for the DJ, funk connoisseur, film, TV, ad or radio music supervisor. There are plenty of breaks and beats, loops, and mood setting tunes, all produced by Shawn Lee, the man behind "The Ape Breaks" and "Planet Of The Breaks".