This is his 5th album, and the title came from his explanation of the setup being "4 banks of 4, so that's 12." The running joke caught on by fans who tried to explain it was 16.
While I can dig Daft Punk's music and even recognize it from time to time, other dance artists elude my memory most of the time, even the big ones like this. Let's get into it and see if we stumble across anything worth remembering later one when this is all over.
Want to hear the whole thing? Follow this link to Spotify, or check out the Continuous Mix on YouTube.
We start things off with "Some Chords" which was the first official single, released through Beatport. It was used in The Sims 3 as well as an episode of CSI (on which deadmau appeared). It starts off with a building tone, until about a minute in where everything picks up. So much computerization. I may need some Beatles after this just to hear a guitar again. No, kidding, it's actually getting much better. Once the tones have died down, the beat picks up and provides something to get moving to. This is definitely an opener track, and works well for the album's kick-off point.
"Sofie Needs A Ladder" (featuring SOFI - go figure) has this almost mulled siren sound to it throughout, then switches into this muted plucked string - though I know it's all done electronically, it's sort of a cool treatment still. Whoa, there's words. I wasn't expecting that. I don't care what the lyrics are, but some kind fo words always makes a song much easier to get in to. Even when that siren sound comes back in to distract you from any sort of non-headache-induced thought process you're trying to have.
The beats are pretty decent for "A City In Florida." I'm still trying to find connections between music and titles here, but maybe I'm just over-thinking things. There's an ongoing beeping beat in this (I know my descriptions probably sound so weird to people who actually understand what's going on here). Actually, the build up moments are really cool, though there's a part of a listener that wants to anticipate some ending to the trailing up scales.
"Bad Selection" actually kicks off with this cool Latin-type beat, actually creating a familiar dance beat with a new sound. It's doesn't remain evident throughout the rest of the song, but knowing that from the beginning helps to grasp onto something for the rest of the time. Actually, I'd venture to add reggae into the list of descriptive words as well. The overlaid voice helps exemplify that part.
Wolfgang Garner is featured on the next track, "Animal Rights." It begins in a way that I feel could have almost been expected - think Flo Rida's "Good Feeling," then think back on every other song you've heard in a similar manner. It doesn't remain that way though. This downright funky sounding melody comes in, and if I didn't know better, I would call it a bass of guitar playing along. It's a litte too clean sounding to pass as that, but still, it's a good sound.
"I Said - Michael Woods Remix" with Chris Lake made me giggle a little, because there's these little fades that sound like whispers in the woods... or on a lake... tehehe. Okay, okay, sorry. It's kind of more galactic-sounding tune, until, out of nowhere, these harder tones come in, just for three notes - then we're back to where we were. It's like being jerked out of a sleep quickly, then falling back into it. It doesn't totally happen again. The song does go one for quite a while though.
In a pretty typical dance beat, but something that seems to make for a good party mix, here's "Cthulhu Sleeps," as a live performance. The airplane/slicing sounds are an interesting addition later on. Also, the song's 10 minutes long. Enjoy!
Greta Svabo Bech brings an entirely different sound to the Grammy nominated "Raise Your Weapon." The song doesn't pick up in beat until the opening verse and chorus, but even then, it's not so overwhelming as to ruin the rest of the track. She keeps it up throughout, and I think the balance that's struck between dance and song is really well played. It's a good song all-around, especially given my standards around this genre. Even as the beat gets dropped heavier, it's not annoying, for the first time in a while.
"One Trick Pony" is back to what we had before. Actually, it's a lot dirtier than what we had before. Have I been transported back into Nicki Minaj territory here? Oi... I did not want to be back into awkward rap territory. And I hate songs that I could never listen to without some embarrassment with other people.
We pretty much end things with "Everything Before," aside from the continuous mix that is actually the last track - sorry, I'm not sitting here for an hour to evaluate that one. And all I'm left wit here is a very typical beat and some creepy breathing. Awesome, we're done.
Added To My Playlist:
- "Sofie Needs A Ladder"
- "Animal Rights"
- "Raise Your Weapon"
Don't get me wrong, as usual, I love dance/electronic music on in the background. It just gets really hard to hear in succession with full concentration on everything. The songs are long and drawn out in repetition. That's just the genre, and I am in no way knocking it. This album in particular had some really great gems to offer, and it was a good, solid album.