PRICE:
$17.00
IN STOCK
ARTIST
TITLE
Electronic Frank
FORMAT
CD

LABEL
CATALOG #
AUS 002CD AUS 002CD
GENRE
RELEASE DATE
10/14/2008

This is the debut solo album by Berlin-based Lee Jones. He lived in London until 2002, where he was producing and remixing as the successful downtempo/nu-jazz artist Hefner, but followed his heart to Berlin where he was inspired by the music and clubs to move into a new production style. Most recently, he's become known as the main creative force behind MyMy, whose debut album Songs For The Gentle on Playhouse made waves across the globe. Since 2007, he's released his beautiful solo works on Aus Music and Just, while also collaborating with Berlin local hero Daniel Dreier on releases for Upon You and releasing new MyMy material on Berlin's illustrious Ostgut Ton imprint. Electronic Frank is full of surprising and heartwarming moments that open out unexpectedly from richly-textured grooves. He pulls melody and harmony from the most abstract places and spaces, yet makes them work together like few producers can. His wistful melodies, combined with his spacious programming, allows you to drift off into your own thoughts, yet the detail in the sound design can snap you back to reality in a second. The first half of the album is a lush, rich, intricate tapestry. Quirky and playful. Inviting and detailed. The pace is gentle, the vibe relaxed. Individually sung words and vocal snippets lend a human touch, and when layered with an imaginary orchestra full of opulent harps, sweeping strings, delicate pianos, bouncy accordions and all manner of weird and wonderful instruments, it creates a dramatic effect. On "Roadwork" and "The Secret," the groove is stripped back, giving the melodies a feeling of space and power. The mood darkens with the sinister guitar licks of "Shoe Shine" before the intensity dial is cranked up fully with "Every Click Matters," which sounds like Timbaland might if he'd hung out in Berlin for the last 5 years. "It Is, Isn't It" and "Safari" are drawn from equally freakish sound pallettes -- trumpets (real and of the Elephant variety), flutes, timpani, insect sounds, bird calls, the list goes on. They are percussively explosive, rhythmically beguiling, full of surprises and packed with sounds that shouldn't work but do. Brilliantly. The climax of the album is "MDMAzing" and we think the title says it all. Don't take it too seriously -- it's supposed to make you smile.