Friday, March 21, 2008

Harmonic 33 - Extraordinary People (Alphabet Zoo)

I know it’s important to keep up with evolution of sound, music, and genres, but why can’t I stop listening to Harmonic 33’s 2002 release, Extraordinary People? Did the common folk forget about the light, spacey, and spy-sexy trip-hop sound, or am I just not looking in all the right places? Even the group’s follow up album, Music For Film, Television And Radio Volume 1 on Warp Records did not satisfy my cravings for a similar sound. Out of fourteen tracks on this first full length Alphabet Zoo release, every single one is a standout! The label owner, Danny Breaks, even contributed a few cuts and scratches to the record with his turntablism skillz. The Harmonic 33 is Dave Brinkworth and Mark Pritchard, producing under various pseudonyms since the 90s. Brinkworth has previously contributed to Capio and the duo’s early drum’n’bass outlet, Use Of Weapons. Pritchard’s discography, on the other hand, is almost impossible to trace, with his numerous aliases and group collaborations, most notable among them with Thomas Middleton under Global Communication [note to self: revisit 76:14] and Jedi Knights. Although I can fully appreciate Pritchard’s latest gravitation towards a more Detroit influenced hip-hop sound with his Harmonic 313 moniker, I still turn back to Extraordinary People time and time again. This was one of the albums that made me want to write reviews almost six years ago, simply for the sake of spreading the music to everyone, thrusting with "here, hear!"

myspace.com/harmonic333 | reloadonline.com

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