Take Fatboy Slim, Moby, the top rap artists out there, all the great European DJs, and combine all that into a CD. Then, throw that idea out the window, and you have “Awaken”.
This album starts out as a mess, and ends in even more of a shambles. I have no idea what this CD is trying to be: it is an odd mix of bad R&B, bad rap, and bad Euro-beat-like music. Some songs attempt to be jazzy, but fail horribly.
The album sounds like something that’s been done many times over the years, but much worse than the norm.The instrumental backbeats to a good majority of the songs sound like someone is holding down the “Demo” button on a Casio keyboard. The attempt to bring in some European tastes appear to be from cookie-cutter beatmakers.
I took a look at the website of the company who made it ?www.electromatrix.com, to see what it had to say about the album. Apparently, there is a DVD released for it, and it is, as seen on the site, “Beats and Breaks scientifically created for Surround Sound.”
The beats aren’t particularly good, although I did notice some decent fades from channel to channel on my speakers. Not nearly as revolutionary as it’s trying to be, but I give the makers some credit here. “Scientifically created” is a bit of a stretch, though.
As a musical CD, I see little value. The CD is a jumble of genres, and each track has nothing to do with the previous. There is little holding this album together, besides the poor sound quality that I’ve found.
The album starts with a song entitled “Terraform” by Divine Styler. The opening is a deep monologue, followed by a beat and vocals. The vocals are shallow, the beats repetitive, and the entire song lacks luster.
Track four, “Harnessing the Power,” is beyond words. The vocals consist of an Alvin and the Chipmunks-like voice repeating the same line over and over and over. It got on my nerves after about 30 seconds, yet the track continued for three more minutes.
Next is “Contemplation” by Josh One. Another example of a repetitive beat, with horrid vocals such as a voice saying “I can see your naked body”, and “I want to have sex through electronics.”
Apparently, this is proclaimed to be a top track, according to the CD’s web site. Could have fooled me. It is not original at all, and poorly done.
I don’t know what to make of this album. There are tracks completely out of place, like “Slumbering Seahorse Serenade,” which sounds like it belongs in the soundtrack for a children’s movie.
This is juxtaposed with track 11, “Revenge of the Nerd” by Relm. The attempt to use some vinyl scratch effects in this piece is childish and has an unclean sound. The single vocal line “He’s been wining and scratching himself raw” does little to help the overall appearance of this song.
There is not a single scrap of music on this album that makes it redeemable in any way. Please, don’t bother to buy this CD for its “beats and breaks scientifically created,” as the scientist who worked on this must have known nothing about music.
Re can be reached at sre@campustimes.org