Search - Gavin Hardkiss, Briejock :: Hardkiss Presents Hawke: Namaquadisco

Hawke brings a fresh sound to electronic music

Richard Diaz | 05/20/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Hawke, one of the Hardkiss brothers who put out quality tunes for the Sunburn label, released this album of material in 1998. Hawke, again like others on that label, bring a fresh approach to electronic music, merging shimmery melodies, slinky disco beats, and muted acidy squiggles (for lack of a better term).In fact, that's the exact sound of the first track, the sparkler "to the discoteque" which features the vocal sample "to the disco" appropriately enough. This is a great song, with piano riffs and a video game-ish sound effect to boot, and blends nicely into "Fung," which starts off with some cheeky dialogue before continuing the beat and adding swirly high pitch winds and noises, and a sample as well. Then the CD shifts to mid-tempo for the rest of the tunes, perhaps a shame only because of the California fun of the first two. "Columbo's Got Sloweye," also found on the Electric Manor compilation, has another distorted acid line and some drums with effects; "Vivos en la Muerte" is a suitable follow-up adding male Spanish singing that you may not like. Track 5 comes back strong though ("Born Under a Lucky Star") with a faint tinkling piano loop and a slow but catchy beat that picks up halfway through. "Stationary Tornado" has chatter and effects panning around in stereo, and a faster rhythm, but is nothing special. "Lovebug," is close to a traditional song, with acoustical guitar and male singing to a skittery beat- I'm not big on this one. "Yellow Tangerine," is aptly named, with its squiggles, reverb ed girl chatter (she says "nanananana" a whole lot), and soothing voice at the end. Track nine is nothing special, and ten is a nice little closing track.I liked 7 of the 10 tracks, and the ones that were mediocre at least fit flowed nicely with those before and after them. It gets 4 of 5, and if you like it check out Q-Burns Abstract Message."

Refreshingly varied electronica with a twist

omniscientfool | Beijing, China | 05/06/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This album deserves to be among top electronica acts but is not quite poppy enough to achieve this questionable goal. As it stands, "Vivos..." is indeed awesome, and it's interesting how similar "Born under a Lucky Star" is to Moby's "Honey." I think this came first, and I like it better than that track. There is a bit of meandering here, but it is enjoyable even at its "worst". Its odd title no doubt played no small role in its condemnation."