Filling The Void- I'm liking this tune, vocals were just loud enough to be heard but still quiet enough not to interfere with the intense percussion. Transition around 1:00 was a little sketchy, maybe patch that up. Cool ending, very beautiful. I cant complain about anything except that one spot, kinda interrupted the flow of the song for me. With that fixed, itd be perfect.

man, that was a proper buzzing track had the headphones on for it, it was a proper warped track, head-swimming stuff, sounds original and trippy, i like it man!
inspirational deffo, i should do a mad tune meself, aint done anything warped in a long time.
good shit!

I love fucking around with sounds, to use a technical term. Apesoundscapes does too because the first time I heard this track I was so surprised I feel out of my chair. Much better, I find, than falling out of one's pram. I first came across this highly original electronica artist when I reviewed his JD track (July 2005) which I liked so much I recommended it, and that isn't always the case with first reviews. JD is a great mix of 80's electro-pop and a certain musically insane touch that could only come - I now realise - from this artist. This track merely confirmed what I had suspected when reviewing JD - this is a man on a mission.

Should he choose to accept it, of course.

See, there is a TON of electronica out there, most of it reasonable and listenable. Some of it is surprisingly good and - for a few artists - technically and structurally, is some of the best musical ideas you are ever likely to hear in ANY genre. For my money, the real innovation going on in music isn't in hip hop any more, and that had a long run as style leader. Electronica, in all its myriad forms are where real innovation is happeniong these days and if you don't believe me listen to Refrag, Burp, Bonamici, dcallen to name but a couple of artists. ASS (that's not me swearing, honest, it's the artists initials) looks well set to join this illustrious club because Face Shaped Hole is so cool your tongue would stick to it. A collaborative effort with Mark Gwilliam apparently a vocalist with 'Vinyl Dialect' (what? THE Vinyl Dialect?) Face Shaped Hole blew through my ears l like a breath of spring air, it's fresh, cheeky sounds lightening every corner of my influenza-addled brain.

Say Tuuuuuuunnnneeeees...

Listen, it takes a lot to make me fall out of my chair, so just in case you're a bit skeptical let me number the ways. The vocal is the obvious starting place as it is the main feature, in more ways than one. The lo-fi, yet infinitely listenable jumble of sound that comprises the backing track. The steel drum sound that sounds as if it has been for a dirty night out in the tiles and fell asleep in the gutter. The way the vocals weave around each other, and coincidentally in and out of your earholes. All wonderful, wonderful stuff and if I had any complaints at all, it would be about the length of the track; a 2:43 it's a mere pipsqueak. So, let me take a guess here; this was recorded in some kind of 4 track situation because when I say lo-fi production I do mean that. I think this is just a product of HOW this track were made and ask that you give this track a moment or two to register in your brain. You'll thank me for it later.

Most highly recommended, great fun.

Steve Gilmore

Interesting one this!!

Haha, mad as f***, vocal delivery sounds a bit like american indian chanting (best description I can think of), yeah it's cool. You've got that breathing thing going on again like in that last track i reviewed, kind of trippy, dunno if it's intentional or not but i like it!! Like the whole track breathes, really must try to rip that effect off!! Is it the hats....? hmmmm, could be

Love the reverse strings. Beats are cool enough again, yeah I think you've got a cool sound going on, as far as i'm aware as a tune it's pretty original this!! You like them stutters dont you, so do i.... are you cutting up there through a delay or using a sampler to do it?? (the kind of scratchy sounds) Reminds me, must do more scratching on my own stuff, got a lovely cdj1000 specially for it...rarely use it since i discovered soundclick

Yeah, nice track man, like it, only complaint is it's so short, could have sat through triple that. Feel like trying to do something like it....respect

8.75/10

Good shit today people!!!

Yet another cool track, pretty mad this one. Sounds really chaotic, but it's controlled chaos. I like the way the whole track seems to breathe. Badass as f*** this, actually I really like the structure of this track, the beats are hot as lava, all the sounds fit together sweetly, dunno if that's the right word actually....nastily??

Would work great in a dead heavy film in a chase scene, would work well on a dancefloor too with the right heads...yeah, like it !!

8.5/10

I listened to 'Face Shaped Hole'

This songs messes with your mind a bit. I like it. Vocals are solid, production is good. There's a lot going on in places, and I would like to see a bit more seperation in those areas. Overall, I really liked it..

Best Regards,
Wray

To prove I'm fair, let me prefice this review by saying chipmunks(helium) arent my thing. What I mean is I think it'd improve the track a lot if it were either sung an octave lower or even the same octave but maybe a girl so it wasn't a sped up sample. Lower it'd sound more like a shadow vocal..the words are nice, and the melody of the voice is still fitting.

Aside from my personal preferences though, I think this track holds up with something maybe by Photek, so props there. It has both a good pace to it.

I loved the melody at :15, thought the first few hits of snare could have been sharper, but then when the loops kicked in with the rest of the beat it was really nice. I how the measures were broken up by varied kick repeats. love ALL the background noises.. maybe hair less reverb would sound cool too. Very nice flow.

so I'll give it two scores

my personal one. 7/10, the voice lost it a point for my personal tastes (although for helium, this was not bad at all.)
the review for anyone who likes the helium 8/10 definitely a solid track.

_________________
HELLbus

Well this is quite mad but I like it. Love the vocal. Actually this is a very cool and original track. The mix could do with a little more clarity but it seems to work. Nice one, I value originality above all else. I'll be checking out the rest of your tracks man.

Take it easy.

J.P

Okay first thing, I've had to listen to this about 4 times, I can't make my mind up at all.....

Okay I absolutely hate helium vocals, not because of this track, but because of all the crap records I've heard that have them (Scooter, for example). Now, this is why I've had to have multiple listens, I think they DO fit this track, but personally I'd prefer it if maybe the effected vocal was doubled with the raw vocal, giving the helium effect but like a 'ghost voice' to the main vocal, maybe as a delayed echo, if that doesn't make any sense I won't be surprised, as i'ts not often I make any sense...

Vocal aside, theres not a lot AT ALL i like about this track, sorry!

Only Joking!! I actually like everything else about this track, Very cool atmosphere. I like the stuttered drum loop, I know it's been hammered but it still works in this track, nice wowoeowowowoo synths, nice piano, mix is good,yeah, it's ALL GOOD. Not gobsmacking, by any means, but it's good.

As I say, I personally loathe helium vocals, but I'm gonna put that aside and imagine I have no preference either way.....

7.72/10

Thanks for asking.

checkd out Breathe Again.....

k its a pretty nice track....reminded me of Enigma during some parts....but das cool....loved all da breaks.....all da instuments workd pretty well.........nice flow.....

those chipmunk vocals sound nice....but i dunno i feel da track wud have had a more soulful touch if u had used normal vocals.... the lyrics say 'I need something to believe in.....Just until I stop breathing...'.....this is something i'd like to hear in a normal human voice....something like moby's Porcelain.....but im not sayin the chipmunk thing aint working...i think its fine....its jus my view....MAYBE it wud sound better...im not sure myself.... .....

the mix seems fine...cud have been more tighter i guess.....but its fine....

a good track overall....starts sounding better after a few plays...dint really appeal to me the first time....

like ur style.... will check out ur other tracks too.......

score:....umm...7.5/10......GOOD.....

CJ

apesoundscapes - Wow! mind blowing!. it has all things a good track has. the guitar is good, drums are great and so the electronics: effects and keyboards. the structure is great and doesn't get too repetitive

JD presumably standing for either Jack Daniels or juvenile delinquint which, some would argue, may well be the same thing. JD turns out to be a track about drunken weekends - something we all know well. Apesoundscapes (why?) is one guy, Carl Best, who hails from the beautiful city of Ipswich here in the UK. Working in the electronica:breakbeat field from which - I might add - I have gathered some great tracks over the past few years...

So a fellow Englishman and a genre I know and like, how can it go wrong?

Although there are 14 tracks on his SC site, it's a surpisingly empty site so either Carl is new to Soundclick or really crap at promotion If the latter is the problem then this guy really doesn't have much to fear. JD is a surprisingly confident and mature track that has depth and interest - as well as a very singable tune to go with it all. Much more to the point, the track doesn't sound overly electronic and is improved immeasurably by the vocals and lyrical flow.

In terms of musical reference, the very first one that springs to mind is a cross between a Howard Jones track and Orchestral Manouevres in The Dark. Yeah, I kinda thought that comment would perk your ears up a bit, and well it should to. Infinitely more muscular than the original tales of 80's electropop, JD also shows how far that original influence has spread and grown into a massive, all encompassing genre. Apesoundscapes deserves much more than a casual listen, even though that should be a pleasurable experience for anyone with a soft spot for well executed electropop.

Recommended.

Steve Gilmore

Apesoundscapes - Undaunted

Whoo - I just had a shock of recognition there - the guitar at the start has a strong passing resemblance to "Fuel The Greed" by Kill Wevin, who I reviewed somewhere at the beginning of this thread...

Well this is interesting: I wasn't expecting a breakbeat. The beat sounds a little muffled, but I like the rhythm. This is a curious combination isn't it? A really mellow tune with a proper mashed up breakbeat... I like it.

The thing that's really strange about this track is that it's the middle synth section that sounds out of place, even though it's what you'd expect from a drum n bass track. I like it, but it seems sort of incongruous. I like that brief reversed section, mind.

The production seems ok - sound quality and mixing is good. Structurally, the changes are comfortably done and the interest never wanes. I thought it was about to launch into a sort of reprise at the end there and was faintly disappointed to find it was the end of the song.

Anyhow, the tune itself isn't particularly catchy or memorable - other than the way it has been coupled with the breakbeat. It feels a bit self-indulgent, but that's fine by me cos I've got a soft-spot for this sort of thing...

8/10