Search - Jega :: Variance

Jega
Variance
Genres: Dance & Electronic, Pop

Track Listings (9) - Disc #1
1. Soulflute
2. Antiphon
3. Moment
4. The Girl Who Fell to Earth
5. Sakura
6. Eva
7. Dreams
8. Aqueminae
9. Zenith
Track Listings (9) - Disc #2
1. Tensor
2. Shibuya
3. Chromadynamic
4. Cascade Decoherence
5. Aerodynamic
6. Latin Hypercube
7. Kyoto
8. Hydrodynamic
9. The Girl Who Fell to Earth (Reprise)

CD Details

All Artists: Jega
Title: Variance
Members Wishing: 1
Total Copies: 0
Label: Planet Mu
Original Release Date: 1/1/2009
Re-Release Date: 7/28/2009
Genres: Dance & Electronic, Pop
Styles: Electronica, Dance Pop
Number of Discs: 2
SwapaCD Credits: 2
UPC: 600116802422

Synopsis

Product Description

Sometimes described as the Stanley Kubrick of electronic music, having released an album most recently nine years ago, Jega (a.k.a. Manchester's Dylan Nathan) has finally completed his brand new record for the Planet Mu label. In 2003, a draft version was leaked onto the internet, forcing Nathan to return to the drawing board and re-write vast chunks of material. Since then, he relocated first from Manchester to New York, and then to Los Angeles, delaying the project even further. The completed eighteen-track double-album bears little relation to the leaked material of so many years back.

Variance is split into two nine-track journeys, each given its own disc. Volume One is the light, with beautiful synth arpeggios battle with sampled flutes and organic hip-hop- and soul-inspired breaks. On Antiphon, a lone piano weaves around synthetic rhythms like insects chirping, and plastic-sounding strings give a futuristic feel to the song. The mood is one of joy and hope, with many of the melodies featuring rising cadences of notes resolving in the major. Volume Two is the darkness, altogether starker, starting with Tensor, an electro-acoustic sound sculpture, and building up into the dystopian melodies, electro beats, and dubstep bass of Shibuya. On Kyoto and Hydrodynamic, digital processing and harsh jungle breaks heighten the tempo and the mood toward the end of the disc.
Although Nathan's discography is relatively small considering he has been in the game since 1996, it does include releases on Skam and Matador, plus two seminal breakthrough albums on Planet Mu. His first single, Type Xer0, and its follow-up album, Spectrum, inspired Mike Paradinas (a.k.a. u-ZIQ) to start up the fledgling Planet Mu as an independent label. His second album, 2000's Geometry, pushed his ever-evolving sound from hardcore-influenced melodica to futuristic stark digital landscapes.

CD Reviews

Solid.

bowery boy | seattle | 08/17/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Variance is a two disc 18 track wonder of solid idm. Well worth the 9 year wait.

Variance Volume One is disc one, the light disc. It's kind like deconstructed trip hop, glitch hop if you will. Downtempo beats, glitchy machinations, and shredded r'n'b and rap vocals swirling in and out of the mix. I'm not a fan of rap but it works well in this context. Think arovane's Lilies but really deconstructed.

Variance Volume Two is disc two, the dark disc. It starts off in the same vein as Volume One but with a more brooding, sinister feel. By the time the halfway point is reached it goes off on an awesome drill and bass idm tangent that drukqs era aphex twin would be proud of. Think autechre meets bitstream's Domestic Economy 7 with a little of jega's Geometry thrown in for good measure.

I'm really digging the dark drill and bass of volume two. It's been a while since I've come across a solid idm disc and Variance is this year's frontrunner.

Solid.

Tracks worth checking out: soulflute, antiphon, the girl who fell to earth, chromadynamic, aerodynamic, kyoto

"

Electronic musical goodness

Global SoulJah | Spain | 08/01/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This is an album of two halves.

It's been nine long years since Dylan Nathan's first album, the delay partly due to the leaking on to the internet of a draft version of his 2003 album. He responded to the betrayal by returning to the drawing board and re-writing large chunks of the material so I guess you could say this album was actually only 6 years in the making but it was worth the wait.

Variance Part 1 is the light in Dylan Nathan's musical world, all optimism, sunshine, smiles and lazy days. Kicking us off is `Soulflute' with it's uptempo soulful drums, layered with muted rap, cosmic harp, spectral female vocals, electronic bleeps and whirs, and yes, some soulful flute as well. It's a warm welcome to the musical delights to come.

`Anitphon' darkens the mood slightly but keeps things mellow despite the menacing bass line. Soulful vocal snippets are triggered and released quickly whilst some pleasing keys add a nice counter to the bottom end darkness and beat programming trickery.

The rest of Variance 1 veers between semi-ambient floaters and potential Balearic sunset soundtracks, more often than not with a soulful drum backbone anchoring the space bound pads floating and swirling in the tracks outer reaches as melodic keys add pleasant structure to these multi-layered soundscapes.

Variance 2 is an altogether different kettle of fish as we are led into the dark side of Jega's world by a beguiling and seductive electro-acoustic snippet before `Shibuya' comes along and throws a bucket of cold water over the warm Ibiza sunset moments with it's dubstep rhythm and unsettling electro horror keys.

The journey into darkness continues with the deep space suspense of `Cascade Decoherence', the rave noir banger `Aerodynamic', the intense frenetic electro percussive lazer space battle of `Latin Hypercube' and just in case you hadn't started sweating Jega then hits you over the head with the hyper speed sonic assault of `Hydrodynamic'.

Personally I'm all about the first half of the album but I guess that's just because I'm getting too old for dark IDM rave ups but there's no denying the quality of production throughout."