Search - As One :: 21st Century Soul

Another considerably Superb & Excellent album, by "As One"

fetish_2000 | U.K. | 08/17/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

""Kirk Degiorgio" the brains behind "As One" has been composing & producing music since 1994's "Reflections" album. Yet still remains something of a undiscovered find.....strange, considering that he makes highly cerebral & complex electronic music. Here, he fuses elements of techno rhythm programming with jazz instrumentation to reveal a truly sublime listening experience, that although takes several listens to truly digest, earmarks him as a producer of some confident distinction.



"Another Revolution" mines the sound of the (fairly) new 'Broken Beat' genre, with breaks that are fractured and energetic, and has that layers various jazz samples (like Cello, Bass etc), to highly impressive effort, and this becomes all the more noticeable, by the fact that this (like all but two of the tracks on this album), is purely instrumental driven, and doesn't rely on a strong vocalist to carry the track.



"Free As" stakes its claim to greatness, by pitching its tent in the "Nu-Jazz" section of music. More melodic and elegant rhythmically, this has the compostion of Acid-Jazz, with a freewheeling sound that has a superb Synth-organ arrangement that the majority of the track is built around. Again the fact that this is a fusing of the electronica sound, with contemporary jazz, without the need for a male/female vocalist to make it distinctive is hugely impressive.



"Problems" is one of the two vocals tracks featured on this album, and if theres one thing that can be said about "As One", It's the fact that there are usually very few vocal tracks on his albums (usually 2-3 tracks feature vocals), but when he does decide to include them, they are almost certainly the highlights on the albums. And this rings true with "Problems", as a strong electro bass underpins the sound, with earthy synths, and a gorgeous male vocal prominently dictating the track. The easiest way to describe this would be Techno-soul (Think Prime-era "Stevie Wonder"....with warm electronics & Hypnotic vocals).



"In The Arms of You" is quite possibly the most beautiful compostion on the album, with as strong sense of wonder & enchantment, with the twinkly musical-box sounding texture, and some of the most expansive percussion & deft use of sampling, it's the electronic equivalent of a truly remarkable instrumental string section tucked away on one of your favourite albums, that stands out for being so gorgeously beautiful. Shame then, that it's less than two and a half minutes long.



"The Path of Most Resistance" is the second of the Vocal tracks on this album, and its almost certainly as brilliantly realised as the first Vocal track, with its electro-Jazz-Funk and dense production, this is just one of the multitude of styles that Kirk Degiorgio successfully tackles and proves to not only be a versatile producer, but also a truly accomplished composer. As this track touches on elements of experimental Jazz, & Funk fusion, but without the aid of live instrumentation, and instead done by exceptional programming skills and a sharp ear for melody, this track stands out as a highlight on an album with no weak tracks on it.



There is no doubt that "As One" has made a truly remarkable album here, but those that aren't familiar with his trademark blending of 'Electronica, Techno-soul, Sampling, Jazz-house & Nu-Jazz', should at least approach this with an open mind. The reason for this is because, some may enter into this album, thinking that because Kirk Degiorgio is labelled as a 'techno' producer, that this is music suitable for the dance floor. Unfortunately this isn't the case, as although it features the repetition of intelligent techno rhythms & a level of complexity usually associated with techno, it's far too steeped in Jazz & electro-funk to dance to. It shares more in common with "Carl Craig's", "Herbert" & "Stasis's" form of beautifully arranged cerebral techno, than anything else, and will need several listens at home to truly appreciate the subtly of sounds that only become apparent after several listens. But those that have any of Kirk's other "As one" albums, this easily stands up as some of his finest work."