Latex Records

01. O… Saya
02. Riots
03. Mausam & Escape
04. Paper Planes
05. Paper Planes (DFA Remix)
06. Ringa Ringa
07. Liquid Dance
08. Latika’s Theme
09. Aaj Ki raat
10. Millionaire
11. Gangsta Blues
12. Dreams On Fire
13. Jai Ho

This album was originally released in 2008 by Interscope Records. I only recently got to see the film and so am only now getting to finally hear the full musical composition. While watching the film, which is excellent, I was struck by the soundtrack and immediately decided to get a copy of it. The instant appeal was the combination of Electronic music with traditional Middle-Eastern structures. There is also a lot of modern Middle-Eastern styles as well including rap. Looking up the composer, it seems Rahman is gaining a lot of groun in India and redefining film music there. There are also some tracks by M.I.A., influenced by her time in London, and one by Sonu Nigam.

The thing about Middle-Eastern music in general which I find fascinating is that there are unique vocal techniques used which you do not find copied anywhere else in the world. They also use instrumentation that is highly original and in my own opinion are the best hand drummers around!

What you will find in “Slumdog Millionaire” is a combination of modern and traditional styles blended in such a way that they create an original style in themselves. I don’t normally do a track by track review but since this is so original I’m making an exception in this case. This is evident with the first track, “O… Saya”, which begins with a more traditional sound with the exception of the vocoder on the vocals. However, when the music picks up you begin hearing a guitar with a heavy buzz on it and when M.I.A. rap kicks in you know you are listening to something original and very new as elements of Trance are blended in as well. “Riots” is a bit like an Industrial/Trance piece with Tribal-esque drumming. “Mausam & Escape” begins with a deceptive classical acoustic guitar and then becomes like something out of The Matrix but with very rapid sitar and sliding buzz electro and orchestral hits. It’s like Bullet Time in Bollywood! “Paper Planes” is a rap by M.I.A. Some think this song is about murder or drugs but this is clearly about being a hustler, murder and drugs just happen to sometimes play into that. I especially like the chorus with the gunshots and cash register, “All I wanna do is…” bang bang bang bang, ka-ching “..and take your money.” Funny, but cool! This track reminds me of 80′s Wave but it’s a rap and the music is created using a sample of the intro to “Straight To Hell” by The Clash. This track is followed by a remix of the same song but personally I feel this falls very short after you hear the original. It has a sort of early 80′s Wave Funk mixture. After this is “Ringa Ringa” which has traditional sounding female vocals, drums, and flute. This is much like what most Westerners associate with snake charmers and harems. However, even this is blended about mid-way with some very Industrial styled affects. While I cannot understand any of the language, something tells me the words are very non-traditional lyrics. I still wonder how they do that with their voices! Not any less amazing is “Liquid Dance” which uses traditional Indian male singing styles with what sounds like violin and orchestrations combined with electronic dance music. By the time you get this far you are realizing how freakin’ awesome Rahman is!! The breaks in this track are really cool. He’s definitely creating something with such eloquent blending or musical structures that is practically defies description. “Latika’s Theme” takes it down a bit with soft feminine vocals, guitar, and soft electronics with somewhat of an Ethereal element to the overall feel of this one. This picks back up again with “Aaj Ki Raat”, even more difficult to descripe. The driving beat starts out sounding a bit Industrial but soon sounds like soft 80′s Wave but with a very Pop feel to it. “Millionaire” is another really cool track with some great electro elements! This one almost sounds more like EBM in the vein of Apop or Rotersand but very Trancey. However, the end changes and becomes a bit lighter but ends dark. Oddly enough, “Gansta Blues” is literally that, a very funky gangsta rap! This is very odd to hear done by Indian artists but it is very well executed. “Dreams on Fire” is a soft Ethereal track, obviously a backing track that works well in the film but is a bit empty as a stand alone. “Jai Ho” is the ending song and in the film it is the one all the actors are dancing to. Great drumming and electro combination with traditional sounding male vocals. Like “Mausam & Escape”, this sounds like it could almost go into The Matrix with the orchestral hits and electronica. Sadly, this is not maintained through the chorus which becomes a lot more Pop feeling. The interludes maintain this and also include some great instrumental solos and mixed vocal styles.

One thing I can say is after hearing this I will be watching Rahman and checking out more of his work. I’m highly impressed with how smoothly he combines elements of musical structures normally completely not associated together. I’m a fan of Middle-Eastern music, though I know very little about it and have very little exposure, as well as various forms of Electronica! Thus, I have a feeling Rahman will likely become one of my new favorite film composers!

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01. Televised
02. Reminders
03. Slow Cascade
04. Forgiven
05. The Debate
06. Ruin
07. Sentinel
08. Stand Up
09. Hindsight
10. Delete

Light it Up features guest appearances from Frank Spinath of Seabound and Victoria Lloyd of HMB, Monochrome and Claire Voyant. Founded by J. Ned Kirby in the early 1990′s, Stromkern (including Kelly Shaffer) have created a unique sound in the Electro-Industrial genre by combining hip-hop vocals and ryhthms with classical compositions and post-industrial rock.

One of the things that really stand out to me personally on this album is not just the danceable rhythms combined with the hard electro-industrial themes and styles, but also the addition of piano to this mix. As a fan of keyboard music in general, be it electronic or acoustic, I absolutely love the way Ned combines these elements. I’ve been looking at various tracks by several artists who have used piano in unexpected ways with music styles that it might not normally be associated with traditionally and find Ned’s to be one of the most appealing combination to me personally. There are not many in the Industrial genre who have done this and the first you might think of is Trent Reznor. However, Ned’s work does not become so melodramatic and instead is a smooth combination where the piano accompanies the Electro rather than taking over the mood of it. I hope he continues this with future releases as I’m a huge fan of it. The most melodramatic track, and also a great standout, is probably “Hindsight” featuring Victoria Lloyd of Claire Voyant. However, the softer side of the female vocals and piano is contrasted by heavy rock guitar. Love this track!!

This album is by far my favorite so far by Stromkern and is the one that turned me onto the band to begin with causing me to buy all his previous releases. However, this one stands out far and above his previous releases and I believe he will only get better. As for his use of hip-hop vocals, do not let this confuse you into thinking this is anything but pure hard electro-industrial because it is not some candy-coated hip-hip BS at all. Instead, think of Uberbyte as an example maybe. Though Stromkern’s “Stand Up” came first! Don’t forget it!

This is an excellent album for the Electro, Industrial, and EBM genres and is not only my favorite by Stromkern but is actually one of my favorite releases in the genre overall. This will likely go down as an all-time fave!! Definitely worth checking out!!! This is very well put together and the contrasting elements cleanly combined while maintaining a hard edge.

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01. Chemical Halo (bruised generation)
02. 21st Century (rough sex mix)
03. Chemical Halo (drag-strip download)
04. Codeine, Glue and You (scorched remix)
05. Filament
06. I Still Bleed
07. Blunt Force Trauma
08. Black Radio (in the neon blur)
09. Electric Molecular (KMFDM death before taxes mix)
10. Electric Molecular (KMFDM instrumental no taxes mix)
11. Lectric Molecular (Black Metal Box malignant mix)
12. Exile on Mainline (extended dance)
13. Exile on Mainline (radio)
14. Jesus Christ Porno Star (lick-a-licious mix)
15. Static Haze (lost suture)

First off, this is a 2000 re-release so there may not be too much to say about it that you don’t already know. Suture is a compilation of remixes and a few other tracks. The mixes of the same songs are too closely clumped together and would probably make for a more interesting listen had they been spread out more. There are some really good mixes of Chemical Halo, 21st Century and Codeine, Glue & You (probably the best known track from Burn Out At The Hydrogen Bar, still thier best album in my book. This particular release also features a couple special mixes of “Electric Molecular” by KMFDM produced after the two bands toured together.

Chemlab is probably the epitomy of Coldwave (Industrial Rock) with their heavy combinations of Electro and guitars. The newest project of which is H3llb3nt.

One of the goofiest sounding tracks on the disc has to be “I Still Bleed”. It has a childish sounding keyboard melody. “Blunt Force Trauma” on the other hand is definitely one of the better tracks. Very aggressive with a great use of violent sampling Chemlab are known for. The kind of music you kick shit to. The version of Black Radio included here also includes an interestingly longer version of a known sample from Burn Out….

On the more dancy side you’ve got the KMFDM mixes and the mix of “Lectric Molecular”. “Exile On Mainline” displays their heavy use of malignant guitar. “Jesus Christ Porno Star” has a rather different sound than what we’re use to hearing from Chemlab and almost sounds like an abrasive version of a Love & Rocketssong. The final track “Static Haze” lives up to it’s name in that it is a combination of vocal samples and beats buried under a static haze.

Overall, there are a few good mixes of some of Chemlab’s better songs but for the most part it’s nothing new, however, it is a re-release so this would explain that. This is a great disc to get for those who are fans of Chemlab or simply liked the Burn Out… album.

© Copyright 2/2001 TG Mondalf. All Rights Reserved

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