Amon Tobin does it again
J. Thompson | York, PA USA | 03/09/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I guess it always was going to happen. Amon Tobin's past releases basically took record sampling as far as it could go. With Foley Room he and a team took to the streets with high-sensitivity microphones to capture source sound to use as the main components to process into the 12 tracks here. They include actual instruments like strings, drums, piano but also lion roars, motorcycle engines, agitated wasps and on and on.
His last album proper (I am maybe wrongly hesitant to call the soundtrack he did for Splinter Cell a true album) 'Out From Out Where' sounded just as the title suggested, from outer space and very sci-fci. 'Foley Room' sounds much more organic, surely in large part to his molding sounds from actual instruments and our environment. But believe me, you would have a hard time placing all the sounds on this album to their actual source as he (as in past releases) molds these samples into sound that rarely has any similarity to that of the original.
'Bloodstone' opens slowly building on a subtle piano trill and strings courtesy the Kronos Quartet. It segues into 'Esther's' with the same piano theme before a monster of bass beats and manipulated motorcycle engine revs bludgeon the listener. Esther's become's Bloodstone's mean older brother on steroids and speed and the album really takes off. 'Keep Your Distance' is as disturbing as any of Tobin's past spook-fests. Play this on the headphones and you will catch yourself checking over your shoulder. 'The Killer's Vanilla'-another great track with a superb outro. 'Foley Room' includes the requisite scatter-breaks that are Tobin's signature. 'Big Furry Head' is titled as a reference to a lion, whose roars are sampled and manipulated to such extent they would probably send the actual animal backpeddaling in fear. As with all of Tobin's records, the final tracks bring the listener down from the chaos that preceded.
Thoroughly recommended."
2007? Try 2307
Greg | Indiana, USA | 05/08/2007
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Foley Room is an industrial breakbeat / drum-n-bass symphony. Amon Tobin not only improves but he vastly raises the bar every single time he releases an album. You know this is the man who made Out from Outwhere and Permutation right away but what you cannot prepare for is the epic nature in which he rings in 2007 with music that is 2307.
I have a deep love for the album format and 'Foley Room' further defines this affection. It allows for structure and limitations to encourage discipline and creativity. The music here is like the intensity of a beautifully emotional 500 lb. beast trapped within a metal cage where he barely fits and has only one small air hole. He is angry and dents the structure while trying to free himself. He becomes hopeless realizing this is impossible. He ponders his life, becomes bitter and angry again. Somehow, we feel like he got himself into this.
Take that for what you will, but the only album I can compare this to is 'Endtroducing...' and that is a stretch because this is much more intense and the songs are mostly shorter in length (my only gripe because these songs could be of brilliantly epic length to match the mood). But the darkness and emotion is evident and delves deeper into actual human psyche than I'd say nearly ALL of, at least, electronic music.
Amon Tobin has officially been ordained into the vanguard of music's elite."
Sophisticated Artistry in Electronica Pur
zigzagzilla | San Francisco, CA United States | 04/16/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Having been a fan of the Art of Noise in the 80's, it is a very high bar that reaches my ears these days, and Amon Tobin has done it. His incidental style, combined with crafty rhythms and a high degree of acoustic precision create something between acid jazz and techno, a very listenable, wordless play on the human spirit."
Track Listings (12) - Disc #1