Search - London Elektricity :: Power Ballads

Musical Anomaly

J. R. Perkins | Denver, CO USA | 07/24/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"A musical anomaly, London Elektricity does for music what High Contrast has, treading unexplored musical ground for the first time. As Tony Colman remarked in his hospitalcast, "we like different." It certainly comes through in this album. This album is a completely original creation from frontman Tony Colman. But playing a live drum and bass act, dj-ing for years, and running the most trailblazing drum and bass record label for 10 years now has probably lended some inspiration.

This album covers a wide spectrum of sound, ranging from old 60's orchestra samples, to never-before heard synth sounds. It's a high energy amalgam of sound, with originally recorded vocals from Liane Carrol (some songs have lyrics), and originally recorded flow from other artists. You'll have to experience this for yourself to really know what this album is about.

The accompanying DVD is a rather lame offering of amateur video that doesn't tell much of a story, but this album is more than worth it for the music alone."

Unique and essential

Steward Willons | Illinois | 07/24/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"London Elektricity turns in another excellent CD of creative drum 'n bass. "Pull the Plug" had some definite high moments, but "Power Ballads" is even stronger. Tony Coleman's jazzy blend of drum 'n bass, sampled acoustic instruments, and vocals sets it apart from the majority of generic drum 'n bass out there. Every now and then, someone releases an album that features such inspiration that we must re-evaluate the possibilities of the style - in this case, drum 'n bass.



Most of the tracks are quite good, some are not as inspired, and others are masterpieces. "Out of This World" is probably the best drum 'n bass track in years - jazz, soul, aggressive beats, and plenty of excitement. "Strangest Secret In the World" is also a stand-out track with an acoustic bass line and a vocalise-style chorus. "I Don't Understand" isn't a drum 'n bass track, but man, it's hot. Basically, the first five tracks are killer. Once you get to the second half of the album, things begin to drop off a bit, but the first half is so strong that it almost doesn't matter.



If you like progressive, forward-thinking drum 'n bass, you can't miss with "Power Ballads.""