Search - David Holmes :: Come Get It I Got It

Holmes deserves recognition

Allison Barrett | St. Louis | 06/21/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Electronic genius David Holmes, a virtual unknown in America, struck gold once again with an album remixing 1960s and 1970s funk and R&B with smooth instrumentals and modern vocals. Holmes' latest Come Get It I Got It, released in April, has the ingenuity of DJ Shadow and Cut Chemist's hip-hop remixes, without the hip hop, and Moby's soul remixes, without the soul. Holmes' fifth individual release instead blends funk, oft ignored by techno artists, with his own creativity in electronica.
Most tracks feature old vocals with snippets of modern sound bytes and last only one or two minutes, allowing Holmes 26 tracks on the 53-minute album. Despite the congestion of sounds and styles in this short set, the album is never busy or difficult to follow. And of course, it's never monotonous.
Perhaps the most intriguing element of the album is Holmes' ability to scout out forgotten or undiscovered funk classics. Within the rough of unfamiliar artists and songs lie a few diamonds. Recognizable names like Cyril Neville or Muddy Waters and songs like "Purple Haze" grace the album with a degree of familiarity. Highlighting the original artists' musical talent and variety, Holmes merely graces their work with his electronic edge, adding modern samples and tweaking the music at just the right spots. The result is an ambient work reminiscent of Massive Attack and DJ Shadow.
Between the decades-old funk songs fall instrumentals from The Free Association, a moniker Holmes shares with programmer Steve Hilton. Ranging from straight blues to jam-band likenesses to seemingly drug-induced acid trips, the creative instrumentals are so smooth and well-done that they appear improvisational, highlighting Holmes' skill in writing and musical dexterity."

In with the old, out with the new. This is GREAT STUFF.

Cary S. Whitt | Columbus,Ohio USA | 09/12/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"David Holmes takes a much needed break from his Soderberg film scoring and delivers a truly original and fresh mix of tunes with his own touch applied to all. Come Get It is mostly made up of 60's funk and early 70's r-n-b obscurities. All of these are seemlessly blended together to bring you a electro-funk revival the likes of, have never been seen. Being half pop disc, half DJ experimentation, Holmes puts his talents to the test and shows us why he does what he does. The man has quite the record collection, that's for sure. The whole disc flows freely, and dramatically, from Muddy Waters to The Staple Sisters and sounds as new as this morning's coffee. One could put this on for somebody and it's a likable disc from the get-go, the fact is, it's gets better with each listen. Now that's a mark of a great record. Go get it-I got it."

Got to Give It Up - He Got It

ccalson | 08/10/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"A sensational mix n' match. This is a culmination of electronic music's affiliation with the undiscovered glory of recent American musical and sociological past. Accesible and powerful art, Holmes' CD is defiantly cerebral, humorous, and beat-crazed, a PhD in sound."