Search - Obk :: Babylon (+ Bonus DVD)

OBK, un producto mimético del panorama electónico español

Juan Ardenuy Escud | Playa del Inglés, Las Palmas Spain | 06/02/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Para todo el mundo de habla hispana y a nivel internacional, existen dos grupos en el mundo de la música electrónica que desde hace años marcan la pauta y se mantienen vigentes. Por un lado, Fangoria/Alaska y, por otro, el grupo que nos ocupa, OBK. Se les ha acusado de guardar cierto mimetismo con los ingleses Depeche Mode y ser su versión hispana; esto es cierto desde el punto de vista de que los admiran y reverencian y de que existe una grabación medley de los temas Personal Jesus/I Feel You pero, con el tiempo, OBK ha aflorado una personalidad propia que les ha llevado a un estatus indiscutible, con una legión de fans ultrafieles y un buen nivel de ventas a nivel nacional. En este último CD ("Babylon"), sigue la experimentación entre sonidos electrónicos y rock, donde se distinguen perfectamente las guitarras. Las composiciones son de una excelente calidad y las letras muy cuidadas ya que contienen mensajes muy interesantes de clara vocación humanista. El primer single ("Lucifer") es especial, hipnótico y te descubre nuevas sensaciones sin renunciar a la comercialidad, su Vídeo es excepcional, acorde con la historia que cuenta y con un final sorprendente. En definitiva, un buen album de un grupo que en muchos sentidos guarda ciertos paralelismos con los anteriormente citados Depeche Mode pero que, por propia personalidad, ya llevan istalados más de catorce años en la cumbre del synth-pop español y que cuentan con el aval del éxito masivo que, desde el primer disco (de synth-pop juvenil) hasta hoy les ha mantenido siempre en los primeros lugares de ventas en su especialidad."

No soy Darth Vader, el malo de los dos.

Razor Queen(Witch Hunter) | 04/18/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Uff! Where to begin? I never thought I would attempt to review OBK Babylon, as it is quite hard to pinpoint their style. Many say Spanish electronica but I feel they are too organic to be under that title alone. Fangoria is Spanish electronica, not OBK. Others have compared them to Depeche Mode. Being quite a big fan of Depeche Mode I would say that if this were a Depeche Mode cd, it would be my favourite. I think the only Depeche Mode cds you could say it resembled are `Ultra' and `Black Celebration' only it's better. But enough about DP, onto the cd. The music is dark, quite melancholy in some places. Certain tracks like `Lucifer' are pretty morbid. Other tracks however are quite light with sober undertones like `Si No Tuviera Nada Que Perder'. I am pretty fluent in Spanish so I can enjoy these songs to their full potential and I have to say, lyrics play an integral part in the `atmosphere' of this album. Some of the best I have ever heard. In fact I would be happy to submit a translation should anyone wish it, just drop me an e-mail. I first discovered OBK by accident. I heard their song `Quiereme Otra Vez' on the radio and immediately adored it. I went to the `Centro commercial' the very next day the hunt the record down. I had no clue as to who the band were or the title of the cd and was reduced to singing the song to each shop attendant hoping they'd recognise it. Alas no one did, and having turned crimson for the 4th time that day I decided to try one more shop. A little `Manzana Discos'. The lady at the check out heard about two notes of the song before gushing about it being her favourite band and immediately pointed to the huge grey billboard at the entrance. OBK Babylon, it read. I purchased it on the spot and scurried home. I listened to it all the way through and loved every single song. That's quite rare for me. This cd has accompanied me throughout my travels and is one of my all time favourites. There is only one catch, which prevented me giving the album 5 stars. The album has copy write protection encoding. This means that you cannot copy it, extract mp3's etc. Also it causes it to skip on certain songs when played in a Discman or car cd player. This is gets pretty infuriating. Since I bought this disc I should be able to do with it as I please, whether I play it, use it as a coaster, eat with it or use it hurt myself with, It's my property. The label automatically brands me a criminal. I would never dream of posting OBK Babylon mp3s on the Internet but hey, that's not the point. The DVD that comes with it contains the video of `Lucifer' but I wish they had included the video for `Quiereme Otra Vez'. It is region 2, format pal. Well that about wraps things up. Add this dynamic cd to your collection. Muaks!"