Search - Intermix :: Future Primitives

I remember this back when it was called "Delerium"

03/31/1999

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Whoa. The prolific nature and taste for multiple projects of Bill Leeb (one of the two people behind this album) can confound even the sharpest of minds. I mean, between past and present collaborators, this guy has, what, eight projects? Let's see. Front Line Assembly, Delerium, Noise Unit, Intermix, Synaesthesia, Cyberaktif, Equinox, Pro-Tech. Yep, eight, though some are no longer active. And that's not even counting his early membership in Skinny Puppy, which for the sake of simplicity and a good night's sleep, we'll pretend never happened. Problem is, project bleeds into project until you're not quite sure what the hell you're listening to anymore. Case in point, Intermix's 3rd (and final?) album, Future Primitives. For those not in the know, the title sums up the album pretty good. Style? It sounds kind of like Delerium. But not early Delerium, which is what Synaesthesia sounds like these days. And not recent Delerium, which sounds like Enigma, if Enigma listened to a lot more Peter Gabriel. And not even middle-era Delerium, which was the Spheres albums. So what does this album sound like? I'm not sure. Delerium is an obvious reference point though, and this album is certainly closer to Delerium then it is to either other Intermix album. If you liked old Intermix, don't get this, get Equinox. Or Pro-tech. I get so confused. Is it Equinox that sounds like Intermix, or Pro-Tech that sounds like Noise Unit? For that matter, new Front Line Assembly (Flavour of the Weak-era) sounds a bit like Noise Unit, Decoder/Drill-era. But the last few Noise Unit albums sounded a bit like old Intermix. And the Noise Unit album before that, Strategy of Violence, sounded like Millenium-era Front Line Assembly at a rave. For that matter, Delerium's second album is very Front Line Assemblyish. And to compound it all, Front Line Assembly's Tactical Neural Implant sounds like Depeche Mode. Well, Depeche Mode if Depeche Mode had distorted vocals, cyber-apocalyptic lyrics and samples from "Robocop." I'm even more puzzled then when I began-- I've had to re-read this review three times to follow it all. You might want to consider doing likewise. The thrust of the matter is, if you like Delerium, or Synaesthesia, or vaguely world-music-esque chanting stuff, or anything that has the name Bill Leeb plastered on it somewhere, get this album. Otherwise, stick to something less confusing, like proving Fermat's Last Theorem."

Old school Intermix

suchman | 04/15/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"You know, I never could figure out why people think this record is a Karma B-side record... this came out in 95! If anything, it's a teaser of what was to come in the following 6 years. So maybe it's a Semantic Spaces B-side record... but that is pushing it... this is a really tribal record, full of chanting, low-fi instruments made out things like ivory tusks and sabertooth tiger claws... mix in a little tasteful techno and some real nice melodies and you've got yourself a pretty cool record. Now, this is definitely not your old hhip-hop intermix, but this may be more interesting. Certainly 6 years later, this record sound the lest dated of the intermix... and is the one I most often play."

Intermix? Delerium? Who cares! They're both great!

Clarissa | Ontario, California | 07/17/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I'm pretty much repeating what everyone else has already said but here it goes again... This album is NOT Delerium, nor is it a Delerium b-side. And though I agree with another reviewer who questioned, "Why, Intermix?", this album certainly has its differences - they're just more faded into the background. This probably SHOULD OF come out under the alias Delerium, just before Semantic Spaces, but it didn't so I'm completely over it. This is, however, a lot more impressive compared to the multiples of other Bill Leeb/Rhys Fulber side-projects, such as Pro-Tech, Synaesthesia, Equinox, Noise Unit and Mutual Mortuary which were bland and dull in comparison to the liveliness of Intermix. In fact, if this WERE an actual Delerium album than this would probably be my favorite. It's less eclectic than Karma and Poem but I find myself listening to this more than anything else. And despite the fact that this album has heavier beats that border toward techno, there are similarities that are undeniable to this and to the later Semantic Spaces - like the tribal chantings amidst swirls of electronic worldbeats. Don't, however, expect to find any female singing here for they are completely obsolete. And while that might be unfortunate to some, Intermix's Future Primitives should sound like heaven to the others who prefer the non-vocal tracks by Delerium more. Its got amazing bass when played really loud with hooking melodies that never grow tiresome... Overall I'd say that avid fans of mid-Delerium will like this best, although its got a mixture of both the dark and the light. Suffice it to say that this IS Delerium only with more of a beat. And if anything, "Seeds of Harmony" comes the closest to Delerium's current sound which is more polished and friendly. Like I said in the title . . . Intermix? Delerium? Who cares! They're both great!"