I recieved this idm cd via the list, so I figured an idm review of it was
only necessary. sorry for the off-topic ;)
Well, I've never heard of Tadd Mullinex, nor this label Ghostly
International (who has a website but it's 'coming sooooon'), but I must say
that I was more than pleasantly surprised. Usually when I get cd's on the
list I expect quirky (hello kumquat) or boring (although i haven't acquired
a boring cd from a cottage industry yet.. hmm..). This was, well, it was
unexpected. I believe mr. mullinix has enrolled in the richard devine
school of hard knocks, because it does have a general feel of mr. devine -
meaning that you would lump these two into similar subcategories, but the
music itself is pretty different. Tadd uses melodies! :)
actually a lot of the melodies are what make this album stand out, for me
at least. some are sort of basic melodies (as in "The Letter"), but even
the basic melodies are set up in a way to make them interesting. Well to
use the song "the letter" more, it doesn't strike me as particularly
complex at the base level, but the programming (playing? heh heh) is done
at a speed to ensure at least some technical prowess and use of multiple
melodies together and pitch changing etc. and it's a "real" piano sample,
too, which, to me, adds (i don't think i'd like the song if it was just
some beeps for melody... if you hear it you'll [hopefully] hear what i mean).
Other songs incorporate a much more complex melody but using relatively
simple sounds. Track 2, "Lulla", has some major mood swings (and some
*major* tempo changes too), and the melody goes right along with it. To
follow with the schematic samples, it sounds somewhat like a track made
with both Devine and the Phoenecia crew...
Although I must testify this here, to save mr. mullinix (and the ghostly
international label) some strife - this is definitely NOT a schematic
"copy" album. some sounds are reminding of Devine or similar, sure, but
after about 3 or 4 songs into the cd, I sort of dropped the association
that I had made, simply because it really didn't apply. This album
includes some, essentially, "basic" idm ideas and some rather new and
innovative ideas as well, especially with rhythm (which is where most of my
Devine associations came from).
anyways, back to the review. It starts off with an intense "Minajor",
which changes considerably within the 7-odd minutes it goes on for (a nice
feat for a somewhat longer track). there's a hinting of melodies on this
track, but they're rather subtle. track 2 is where the melodies really
come out to play, and i can see most people with any liking of any "idm"
enjoying this track.
The rest of the album is pretty consistent, with a nice mix of, well, good
songs :). very nice programming, very nice effects, but more importantly,
they're put together very tastefully and enjoyably, and the album has a
very "human" feel to it. A lot of the tracks have tempo changes, extra
beats thrown in, almost-tempo-changes-but-then-woops-not-a-tempo-change,
and fun things like that. overall it appears to be somewhat somber,
perhaps a little melancholic, but even the cold parts are only about 54F :)
Like i said, i was really surprised by this album. I think a couple more
promos were sent out among the list, so keep an eye open for those reviews
(hopefully :b), and i'm definitely going to keep an eye open for more of
mr. mullinix.
is this Ghost International then, essentially, a new label? the
double-digipack case looks pretty professional, and it was mailed to me by
what i assume is the label owner (sam valenti IV), so has anyone else heard
any output by these guys?
oh, and it includes a picture of mr. mullinix as well. do idm people ever
smile? and don't mention aphex :b
cheers,
/derek
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"Extremism is no vice when God's on your side"
-Opus the Penguin
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