Dave Monolith - Welcome FLAC

Warm synths, great breaks, funkiness and melancholy, wonderful, joyful, playful, and so many other ful words music!

It's a shame this never made it to vinyl. Maybe some day.

well here's my review. this is some rather good stuff, in fact some of the synth work is blowing my brains out. it's indeed reminiscent of the tuss-stuff, probably similar synths used (i know fk all), but hasn't got the aphex scale on it. like the tuss, a lot of "syro" or the eod-stuff, it's mad funky in places which is obv fkn great. the sounds and melodies and rhythms are just fresh, it's the kind of fun idm you want to spend the rest of your life with. if this was the swansong of rephlex, at least it ended with some appropriately fantastic stuff. yes, the word "stuff" is very useful and some tracks on "welcome" send shivers down my spine. why are figs so delicious and healthy? you must buy this cd if you've been bored enough to read to until this point: .

This thing is so damn funky it ought to be outlawed, wow, Bootsy Collins and his rubber band have nothing on what Dave's put out. For the Aphex fans who believe this is another surname of their beloved Mr. James, you may be right. Even though I cannot stand Aphex Twin for the most part, 'Welcome' has some very identifiable touches to it. I must state that this album is the prettiest I've heard from him, a study in basslines is another way to look at this record. It's chocked full of them, so much so that the very bandwidth threatens to burst from the tremendous pressure put upon it. You will twitch, you will tap your index finger along with the beat but more than anything you will groove. To sit still while you listen to 'Welcome' is exceedingly difficult, I'm forcing myself to remain motionless just long enough to complete this piece and then I'll be shaking it madly yet again.He wastes no time cutting to the meat of the matter, you get your four or five second intro and then those synths and drum machines (or samples thereof) hit your nerves and it's all you can do to not just jump up and down like a madman in a padded cell screaming to get out of that strait jacket and chase people up and down the hall with a meat cleaver. 'Welcome' has got to be one of the most insidiously infectious records I have ever come across because not does it just get down with the rhythms, it stretches them wickedly between bizarrely spaced out interludes which appear out of nowhere like the waves of a serious body high which takes you completely out of your conscious mind. "Covoder" is probably the track on here which is wracking my mind the most at the moment because it's so incredibly varied yet mercilessly precise, whoa, the beats and effects change quicker than I can type and before I know what the hell has happened it pauses again for a millisecond before charging over the horizon in a completely different direction.Goddamn does the work on here give you a run for it, the pacing is absolutely insane. I'm pretty sure this is not going to be on any dj's playlist (outside the vacuous pantheon of internet gamesmanship, mind you) because the changes in tempo and choices of sounds are very innovative in ways I just know will be studied for quite some time. Damn these breakdowns are among the slickest out there, the percussion trickles along then the bass fills everything up with, here comes that word again everyone: funk. Why oh why didn't Jenkinson do a cameo on here, perhaps next time eh? If I had to pick one word to summarize what Dave Monolith's music sounds like on 'Welcome' it would be bacterial because like that species of organism, the songs once let out of my speakers continue to grow and grow at a quantum rate. Who knew I'd be having to dust off my time spent in droning college lectures on the sub-atomic arrangement of the molecular code to write a review.This is no ordinary lab trial we have here, though, no rather it's much like taking almost violently contradicting elements and pouring them into the same test tube. Next, you shake vigorously. Finally, you hope their vitriolic nature towards one another doesn't manifest by blowing your hand off. Christ, there are some drum breaks employed on here which cannot be humanly possible to play and that's how I like them damnit. No more of this phony capitulation to the whims of the "everything must be live" crowd who should have just kept listening to their apologetic guitar based dreck. This is electronic, you twits, it is unforgiving in both it's composition and application. Lights flashing, the machinery nears overload but Dave's got his chef's hat on and I'm just happy to be the kitchen listening to what he's cooked up. Take it away, maestro.

I wondered about that too, however that does not necessarily nullify their review or turn differentiation obsolete.

Good.

Your review became invalid for me the moment you said you despise Aphex Twin.

It's odd to find that no one wrote any words concerning this record, either good or bad, positive or negative, even though it shows a somehow positive rating. But then again, it's not surprising considering this is not widely known and accessible, standard for this kind of music, which should definitely reach a wider spectrum of music listeners of any kind. When the Volume 1 EP was released, i really enjoyed it. I thought it was a fresh sound, unique to date, even funny and playful. It brought an approach to what is called IDM music, which is for me the most ridiculous and unfortunate term to have ever existed in the music history, while still displaying a funky vibe, and unusual melodic qualities.While i was enjoying this newly discovered artist, i felt something was missing, which only occasionally made me return to the EP. But when Welcome, the debut album, was released and reached my ears, i understood that it was as simple as this: i had to listen to more Dave Monolith!And this record is in fact one of the most exciting releases of the last years for me. I shall say, before going further in detail, that this sound is not barrier-breaking, epic or revolutionary. Its most valuable quality lies in the fact that it is unique. "But every sound is unique!", says the reader of these words, with whom i agree. But Monolith brings a different thing, from my point of view. It discreetly absorves references from the early 90's more abstract electronic music, acid, and the brain oriented side of music (which i have reluctantly referred to IDM early in this text) to which is added a surprisingly strong presence of melody, spiced with a funky vibe, in a strange, but assumed way, and the result is... unexpected, frankly speaking! I find this sound quite addictive and deeply honest in the way it gives itself to the listener.I wanted to avoid mentioning The Tuss, but now i am thinking it is essential to talk about it, because people will notice a similar sound palette at first listens, but don't let yourself get fooled. The vibe, the atmosphere is completey different. I have had this argument with people before, who despised Monolith for this, being die-hard Aphex fans. If you consider yourself one of these, chances are that you won't enjoy this, because you will be subconsciously making comparisons to the Tuss material, and therefore won't be able to enjoy it. I pity those in this situation, because they can't understand what they are missing!