ELECPHONIC
ELECPHONIC
Aotearoa, NZ
Electronica/Dance / Trip Hop / Experimental
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ELECPHONIC
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The sharp-edged - though inherently humorous - lyrical content makes SOPHOMOREPHONIC endearingly listenable, and feeds the wryly opinionated tradition of ELECPHONIC's previous release...
Sophomorephonic is the second album from enigmatic and politically satiric artist Elecphonic. The first, self-titled album was a "whimsically Mercurial collection of nine tracks simmered and steeped in a stew of electronica", and Sophomorephonic continues this quirky, bass-driven pedigree with eight well-polished and musically adept tracks.
Released on Daniel Gannaway's Truly Independent label, Sophomorephonic is similarly incisive in its commentary on social mores and the many-faceted maladies of consumerism, greed and hypocrisy.
The sharp-edged - though inherently humorous - lyrical content makes Sophomorephonic endearingly listenable, and feeds the wryly opinionated tradition of Elecphonic's previous release.
A stand-out track is Coca Sek, a beautiful, ditty-like offering with a truly addictive hook, rhythm and chorus. Coca Sek rues the innate contradiction of the US 'war' on coca leaf in South America while at the same time providing the world's single largest market for cocaine. "Chewing leaf sprayed with Roundup... Can't kill the leaf, can't kill the drug. The world loves the white lady..."
The vocal treatment is pure Elecphonic, with a rolling, rocking, thumping chorus that begs to be played loud - especially the song plays out.
Starbuck is another fun, bumping little track which hangs in the memory long after it's past. "Good hunting Starbuck, the best pilot in the colonial fleet. She'll kick the Cylons' ass. You're the one for me girl. She'll kick the Cylons' ass..." Long live Battlestar Galactica.
Like Elecphonic, Sophomorephonic is quirky and beautifully crafted, and can be enjoyed on a variety of levels. Thematically, it's the lyrical adeptness that once again holds the ear, with the nuanced melodies providing a stylish riposte.
At its heart, Sophomorephonic - like Elecphonic before it - is an infectious and original exercise in musical creationism. As an artistic endeavour, Elecphonic has established itself as a musically competent producer, and an engaging and varied alternative to homogenised, populist electronica.
-
The ELECPHONIC debut is a whimsically Mercurial collection of nine tracks simmered and steeped in a stew of electronica.
Released on Daniel Gannaway's Truly Independent label, ELECPHONIC presents an incisive socio-political commentary in its lyrical content and continues the wryly opinionated tradition of the label's various previous releases, such as OP-ED.
Going to Goa, for example, reflects on the cultivated ignorance of India's many tie-dyed faux-hippy tourists. "I don't really want to know about Goa's long history that stretches back to BC third century, I just want to get high by the Arabian Sea... I'm going to grow my hair and get braids and beads; I'm going to do yoga under the ubiquitous coconut tree."
A standout track is the humorously titled Freakin on a Sneaka, deriding the bizarre, though unstoppably popular sneaker culture/industry. "Pumping the price up with limited runs, vintages and retros and new combinations, they make crazy money while people slave in sweat shops off shoe addicts like me just hanging for the Quickstrike... 300 pair locked down in dry storage. Ain't even been worn, still got them in their boxes..."
In a later track, waxing philosophical on America's fascination with oversized 4x4s, ELECPHONIC prophetically states of the SUV: "I'll always be happy as long as I have my toys." It seems that feeding the West's need for distractions, indulgences and toys is a global preoccupation that we foolishly call 'growth and progress'...
Truly quirky, yet indulgently crafted, ELECPHONIC is at its heart an exercise in musical creationism in that it arrives fully-formed from the ether with not a hint of evolution or precedent. The album can be enjoyed on a variety of levels, for it is musically competent, engaging and varied, and also taps the rich vein of 'currency' offered by electronica.
It's the lyrical adeptness, though, that holds the ear. For while the compositions build, crescendo and fall with great personality, the words have a lingering resonance which gives each track a depth of character not entirely familiar to the electronic genre.
Get ELECPHONIC music @:
The sharp-edged - though inherently humorous - lyrical content makes SOPHOMOREPHONIC endearingly listenable, and feeds the wryly opinionated tradition of ELECPHONIC's previous release...
Sophomorephonic is the second album from enigmatic and politically satiric artist Elecphonic. The first, self-titled album was a "whimsically Mercurial collection of nine tracks simmered and steeped in a stew of electronica", and Sophomorephonic continues this quirky, bass-driven pedigree with eight well-polished and musically adept tracks.
Released on Daniel Gannaway's Truly Independent label, Sophomorephonic is similarly incisive in its commentary on social mores and the many-faceted maladies of consumerism, greed and hypocrisy.
The sharp-edged - though inherently humorous - lyrical content makes Sophomorephonic endearingly listenable, and feeds the wryly opinionated tradition of Elecphonic's previous release.
A stand-out track is Coca Sek, a beautiful, ditty-like offering with a truly addictive hook, rhythm and chorus. Coca Sek rues the innate contradiction of the US 'war' on coca leaf in South America while at the same time providing the world's single largest market for cocaine. "Chewing leaf sprayed with Roundup... Can't kill the leaf, can't kill the drug. The world loves the white lady..."
The vocal treatment is pure Elecphonic, with a rolling, rocking, thumping chorus that begs to be played loud - especially the song plays out.
Starbuck is another fun, bumping little track which hangs in the memory long after it's past. "Good hunting Starbuck, the best pilot in the colonial fleet. She'll kick the Cylons' ass. You're the one for me girl. She'll kick the Cylons' ass..." Long live Battlestar Galactica.
Like Elecphonic, Sophomorephonic is quirky and beautifully crafted, and can be enjoyed on a variety of levels. Thematically, it's the lyrical adeptness that once again holds the ear, with the nuanced melodies providing a stylish riposte.
At its heart, Sophomorephonic - like Elecphonic before it - is an infectious and original exercise in musical creationism. As an artistic endeavour, Elecphonic has established itself as a musically competent producer, and an engaging and varied alternative to homogenised, populist electronica.
-
The ELECPHONIC debut is a whimsically Mercurial collection of nine tracks simmered and steeped in a stew of electronica.
Released on Daniel Gannaway's Truly Independent label, ELECPHONIC presents an incisive socio-political commentary in its lyrical content and continues the wryly opinionated tradition of the label's various previous releases, such as OP-ED.
Going to Goa, for example, reflects on the cultivated ignorance of India's many tie-dyed faux-hippy tourists. "I don't really want to know about Goa's long history that stretches back to BC third century, I just want to get high by the Arabian Sea... I'm going to grow my hair and get braids and beads; I'm going to do yoga under the ubiquitous coconut tree."
A standout track is the humorously titled Freakin on a Sneaka, deriding the bizarre, though unstoppably popular sneaker culture/industry. "Pumping the price up with limited runs, vintages and retros and new combinations, they make crazy money while people slave in sweat shops off shoe addicts like me just hanging for the Quickstrike... 300 pair locked down in dry storage. Ain't even been worn, still got them in their boxes..."
In a later track, waxing philosophical on America's fascination with oversized 4x4s, ELECPHONIC prophetically states of the SUV: "I'll always be happy as long as I have my toys." It seems that feeding the West's need for distractions, indulgences and toys is a global preoccupation that we foolishly call 'growth and progress'...
Truly quirky, yet indulgently crafted, ELECPHONIC is at its heart an exercise in musical creationism in that it arrives fully-formed from the ether with not a hint of evolution or precedent. The album can be enjoyed on a variety of levels, for it is musically competent, engaging and varied, and also taps the rich vein of 'currency' offered by electronica.
It's the lyrical adeptness, though, that holds the ear. For while the compositions build, crescendo and fall with great personality, the words have a lingering resonance which gives each track a depth of character not entirely familiar to the electronic genre.
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