Search - Datach'i :: We Are Always Well Thank You

A great AMERICAN entry into the IDM/drill n' bass genre

J. Michael Showalter | Nashville, TN United States | 09/29/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"It was about time an American rolled around to producing good, schitzoid albums in the electronic genre....Not that this guy is ever going to be a poster boy for any kind of movement. At best, his audience is limited to the sort of people who loke whiny, shrill, violent music mixed with occasionally low key notes on pianos and cellos. He seems as intent on destroying 'music' as creating it; structures last as long as do molecules with atomic numbers of things like 200; it hurts and is confusing to listen to.And why, then, do you give it four stars, you might ask?This guy is doing original things that will please people (like me) who are sick of structures and of musical form, and only like to listen to music that attracts bugs and makes puppies howl in the corner. This is it. To quote someone else writing somewhere, if you listen to this stuff through earphones, soon you'll find you've lost your hearing; if you listen to it through speakers, you'll find that you've lost your friends. But still you'll listen....So, this album is obviously mixed parts of beautiful and terrible (a plus), haunting and annoying, yet liberating. This is extreme stuff. I'd list other people who do things like it, BUT.... let's be realistic.... if you're looking at this, you probably already listen to it. You don't just stumble upon Datach'i...."

The next dimension of techno.

theunderbob | 09/13/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Datach'i is one of the reigning kings of the recent techno trend towards psychotic, ultra-high BPM noise-music. It consists mostly of schizophrenic, ultra-distorted drums, samples that have been grabbed and twisted and stretched and modulated until they're barely recognizable, and a definite fixation on noise. LOTS of noise.If you are one of those techno "fans" who owns only the latest trendy trance mixes, or 15 dance records that all sound the same, you will probably hate this one. It's definitely not music to dance to, unless you want to break some bones. However, to pass it up just because it's not made to be danced to or listened to would be a horrendous oversight.The thing that makes this album so great is that Datach'i manages to create interesting melodies and rhythms behind the giant curtain of noise that fronts most songs. All the drums, synthesizers, and samples interlock into an intriguing, beautiful pattern. Some people can see the pattern, some can't, but if you can, you will take this one for what it is- a record that manages to be extraordinarily dissonant, yet beautiful at the same time.This is more than a novelty or-- in my opinion, it's one of the most important recordings in a subset of techno that will someday be just as important and popular as house or drum n bass. It's not, however, the biggest landmark in this subgenre. Datach'i's earlier LP, "Rec+Play", and Kid 606's "Down With The Scene", grab me and throttle me much more effectively than this one.Still, it's definitely worth your money."

Another Masterpiece

Russell Harris | 09/17/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"For those who found joy in Datachi's chaotic soundscapes of his first release ("rec+ play") will be thrilled to find him pushing further ground with WAAWTY. This time around Datach'i relies less on novelty sampling (except for giggling childeren on the title track) and more on letting the music set this recording's darker tone. There are still cheerfull melodies on top of the musical ruckus, "Merrily We Roll Along" and "Buisness Man", should keep fans of "rec + play"'s "Leonard Park" humming.Datach'i is definately a musician who wants to screw with your head. On "Klahtmies", for example, Datach'i plays peek-a-boo by sneaking in tangible, funky beats between skittering, unfocused ones. The effect is disorienting, and yet pulled off very nicely. "Jakalope" has a memorable opening melody that's sure to swim in your head awhile. The multi-tracked "What It Is" explores differnt territory than found on the rest of this recording (I won't spoil the surprises here). Like "rec+play" WAAWTY is perhaps a couple tracks too much, which is why I'm knocking it down a star.If you like your techno to go down easy, steer clear of WAAWTY."