Editorial Reviews matthew lux (isotope 217) was brought aboard for production. aside from being fans of isotope 217, miro brought matthew into the mix because of his experience in working with some of chicago’s Þnest: mcentire, brown, rice and kandel. also, chokdee and matt are old friends from high school... oh yes, matt also brought his theremin!
Subtidal
CMJ Feb 2001
a warmly woven, patchwork quilt feel, Subtidal offers lazy grooves, a tasteful blips and bleeps, and mellow vocals.
Bombast-XXX, Feb 2001
speaks greatly of life in the post-industrial age...an ensemble of machines acutely interacting with humans and other machines.
Album Description
moogs, organs, pianos, glitches, bleeps, beeps & beats create strange quirks and funny turns... it starts off quietly... machines kissing after a long day of work (beso). then you walk to the train and wait on a platform, cigarette in hand (msc). and somewhere in between, you get cut-up and spliced back together (not so clear after all) as you jaunt along the banks of an industrial promise (industry, indiscreet) and follow the lines of an empty highway all the while humming subtle, electro-pop...
Average customer rating: 
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Subtidal
ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD  General
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ASIN: B00005A3HM Release Date: 2001-02-13 |
Tracks:
Album Description
moogs, organs, pianos, glitches, bleeps, beeps & beats create strange quirks and funny turns... it starts off quietly... machines kissing after a long day of work (beso). then you walk to the train and wait on a platform, cigarette in hand (msc). and somewhere in between, you get cut-up and spliced back together (not so clear after all) as you jaunt along the banks of an industrial promise (industry, indiscreet) and follow the lines of an empty highway all the while humming subtle, electro-pop...matthew lux (isotope 217) was brought aboard for production. aside from being fans of isotope 217, miro brought matthew into the mix because of his experience in working with some of chicago's Þnest: mcentire, brown, rice and kandel. also, chokdee and matt are old friends from high school... oh yes, matt also brought his theremin!
Customer Reviews:
Chilled out electronica... moogs, organs, rhodes... :).......2001-07-15
The opening tune, beso, is a giant, soft layered bed of organs, moogs and theremin. it reminds me of machines talking; there is no pretense here, just bits and bytes!
Funny that a band that has a lead singer opens their debut album with a six minute instrumental. But soon enough we hear the lazy musings of Joon Hong, who's lyrics seem to ponder one moment at a time. The second track, "MSC" is a sparse number with a Rhodes, a heavy kick drum and some ambient offerings and a near hip-hop loop that reminds me of a chugging train which is fitting because the tune seems to be about a guy waiting for a train (and his thoughts). By song's end, it seems that he gets on the train, but we have no clue what happens to him...
The most brutish and ambitious of all the songs has to be post apocalyptic nightmare of "Industry, Indiscreet." The song seems to be broken up into three major sections with the first part hitting you over the head like a train (probably the one in MSC). You start out in a factory where the tone is rather dark. But soon enough the song seems to decay slowly into a near lullaby ending with a computer voice stating "Welcome to the promises of Industry." And that's when it hit me! Somewhere in between the beginning and the end, we have become part of the hardware!
As if the "Industry, Indiscreet" didn't puzzle me enough, the following tune, aptly titled, "Not So Clear, After All" is part Jan Hammer Miami Vice and part laptop trickery with cut-up bits and mad panning!
Overall the music is really cyclical (if you dig that sort of thing); think Lab or Sea and Cake. You can certainly appreciate the influences of the aforementioned bands as well as Tortoise, `Topes (due to Lux, do doubt), and label mates EOSS of Boston electronica/drum'n'bass fame. Miro walks that line of digital and analogue pretty well, i.e. Mouse on Mars.
The record is definitely on the chill side... it's a bizarre little pop record that has me curious about the Varunee label (in a search, I found two other releases from them: a spoken word record and a hardcore breakbeat, jungle offering from the aforementioned EOSS). And I would love to see Miro interpret their songs in live situation. How about a tour boys?
Until then, I'll just keep hitting repeat on the CD player...
Music:
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