A Mountain of One - Institute of Joy (sept. 2009)
Listen to their single “Bones”
This release came and went under my radar. Just the other day there was a remix of their song “Bones” inside this Ghostly International mix I was listening to, and it gave me those kind of ’shit what could this be?’ chills. The album is a worthy psychedelic escape from all the noise that’s been clogging our ears lately. The expansive single Bones is a brilliant recipe including all the great changes going on in rock music right now. Moving from the eerie chords of the single to the next track ‘Lie Awake’, things start to make sense. Although there’s a disconnect in the momentum, it’s a comfortable transition. This release is more about the feeling, you know? Check out A Mountain of One on Myspace.
dOP - Blanche Neige, Genius of the Crowd (2008, 2009)
Listen to their single “Blanche Neige”
Listen to “Genius of the Crowd”
Nothing fits what I can get down with right now more than organic house music- live house music. dOP from France is a trio of guys programming beats and recording with only real instruments. Their myspace is littered with photos of them in their studio, full of strange instruments. Their sound could be described as ambient, house, acoustic, techno, disco- they’re located on some middle ground in there. That’s a good place to be right? Blanche Neige is a dark, hypnotic percussive track pushed by a conga groove and overlaid with beautiful French vocals. I’ve been told the vocals describe a guy talking about this Queen- the beauty of the Queen- and how people revel at her majesty. The beat is intoxicating and the ambient playground sounds churn this into something to keep your attention for the full 8 minutes. “Genius of the Crowd” leans more toward a club track, but makes fun of itself. dOP needs to be on your list of bands to check out.
