Search - Amon Tobin :: Permutation

Excellent (my favorite Amon Tobin album)

Brandon Lorge | Minneapolis, MN | 06/08/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I got this CD upon reccomendation of a friend who is really into Tobin's work. He said this would be the best one to get as a first-time Tobin buyer.



I really love this album. The songs are both lyrical and mechanical in a way that you don't often hear. You can tell that it is DJ Jazz, but it has some emotion to it as well. I liked almost all of the songs, but my only complaint is that they do tend to drag on at times, especially when he gets into using fast drumming sequences. This is my favorite album of his."

Ladies & gentleman, introducing a master craftsman.

J. Zbar | Melbourne, VIC AUS | 08/01/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is easily the best introduction to Tobin's back catalogue. Some of his later releases are a better demonstration of the mastery of his production, but are nowhere near as accessible (read: a challenging listen).



What is exciting about Tobin is the effort and style with which he composes his beats. An article that came out at the time of this album's release made mention of the time taken in the construction of the drum patterns, noting that Tobin spent nearly ten times longer on the process than his peers. This attention to detail is evident in the lushness and complexity of the sound produced. Moreover, his inspired choice of samples brings an extra dimension to the tracks, investing them with emotion and interest that the drums (despite his best efforts) can't accomplish.



If you like this sort of stuff, you also have to check out his label-mates DJ Food and Mr Scruff. Not as complex musically, perhaps, but a hell of a lot of fun nonetheless.



A note on the previous review: Bebel Gilberto has sampled Amon Tobin's track on her album, and he is credited in the liner notes."

Tobin is indeed amazing

Private Quentin Tarantino Fan | nowhere | 02/02/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Amazing is right (this may be the first time I use this adjective). It's hard to believe that amazing music like this comes from the electronic genre. Tobin makes music that conjures up images in the mind, can even make you groove, and emotions on the side. This music is so dense and made that it only deserves to be played on some of the best kinds of speakers. Those damn bass heavy headphones that badly wash out treble really can't do this stuff justice. Some music is just higher class. I still can get emotional effects after digesting the sounds, so once noticed through awesome soundsytems, you can easier pick it up in cheaper headphones. So the accusations of me as one who cares more about how it's coming out of the speakers than what's coming out are clear to shut up.



These are great soundscapes that will capture and emotionalize you. Those who are comparing this to DJ Shadow's Entroducing... are coming on to something. At least in some senses. Entroducing... is laid back, haunting, beautiful, and relaxingly mesmerizing. Permutation is edgy, rather tense, the antonym of relaxing. Entroducing... conjures up images of the soul, the brain, sunsets, peace, the sky, and rainy, peaceful, urban streets. Permutation conjures up High speed urban street racing (complete with crashes), Centipede colonies watching the escape of prisoners, reanimation of the dead, Frank Booth, and chickens running around with their heads off. Let your imagination run wild with this one. Who needs books when music like this exists? There's a very cool film noir aspect to it all.



Permutation may be his best so far, as I have been able to hear his other albums through (_________ you amazon!). Bridge and Switch are dark as ______ and jazzy. These are as black as any downtown gangster area you can conjure. You got totally twisted songs like Reanimator (that I set to the works of a necromancer who dies, goes to hell, and sets the apocalypse) and Escape (Escape can really twist your mind if you got a sick imagination). My favorite track on here would have to People Like Frank (a line from the awesome movie Blue Velvet), which features one of the soundtrack's bass lines warped, and orchestral samples that were probably warped versions of the Blue Velvet score. It's almost seems it's made entirely from Blue Velvet samples, and that's just awesome.



Fast Eddie and Sordid remind me of cars, with chases, cruises and races, complete with slowdowns, jumps, guns, mood setters, and more! Sultan Drops reminds me of the invading of an empire in an aladdin land. Heck, you could take everything in this album and create so many scenarios it's not funny (my take on Like Regular Chickens is quite fearful, dark and disturbing). Truly, this guy's music is a work of art. And he even can make you dance, actually a lot. I have trouble sitting still.



For those who will stubbornly insist electronic music is non-talented at all, this album will, sadly, not change your mind. But for those who know that electronic music will be more interesting and pure than all of the _______ that people gloat over (Nickelback? HA HA!), this album is for you. Don't wait any longer to check out the music of Amon Tobin.



10/10"