Applescal - A Mish Mash Of Changing Moods
Written by the B&B Crew
Album ReviewWe still thoroughly enjoy listening to his massive debut album A Slave’s Commitment (one of 2009’s best albums, get it if it’s not in your collection yet), but 22-year old Dutch producer Applescal is already about to drop his second long-player.
Titled A mish Mash Of Changing Moods, IDM’s wunderkind further explores the fine lines between abstract beats, acidy bites, electronic, experimentalism and avant-garde house music at its finest.
Applescal’s world is one where imagination rules the nation, where genres are absorbed, mashed, cut-up and glued together, where abstract thoughts, nifty sound design and spontaneous jams collide to form a unique, hybrid form of electronic music. Does this make his music hard to digest? Not at all. Although his music is put together using well though-over and balanced production techniques, it breathes a very club vibe that will grab you from the very beginning. A Mish Mash Of Changing Moods is of likewise caliber, picking up where A Slave’s Commitment stopped. Across 14 tracks, Applescal manages to impress once more with subtle arrangements, hard rocking beats and melancholic vibes. Opening track The Curle In Me is a fantastically produced breakbeat track in the tradition of Autechre, using haunting melodies as a very effective theme.
The fuzzy ambient-esque A Former Curse and the dreamy Dialeauge show Applescal’s softer side, while The Key Of Genes could very well be one of James Holden’s best tracks. The combination of chilled beats and melodies form an exquisite, close to perfect collage. Most producers would kill for a spoonful of quality on this CD, but we’re not even halfway and the best is yet to come. In Theory is a powerful IDM-rocker of the first class, Roofs Of Heaven a twisted triphop/dubstep/electronic track and The Storm Is Yours a freaked out drum ‘n bass affair with a killer rhythm. Stand-out closing tracks include the warm Gio Boratto-style Black Spirals and the highly impressive and very cinematic Door Weer en Wind, which marks another beautiful track on the closing tip of the album.
A Mish Mash Of Changing Moods establishes Applescal as one of the most talented youngsters in today’s electronic music scene. The album’s title perfectly explains its content: With nothing but highly impressive tuneage from beginning till end, the album oozes with emotion in all its forms. The well balanced tracks, dynamic sounds and continuously evolving themes make this one an intriguing story on its own. The result is an album that has become so much more than just a continuation of a debut LP. A Mish Mash Of Changing Moods is without any doubt the best album in its hard-to-define category, and a serious contestant for 2010’s Best Album.
Tracklist:
1.The Curle In Me
2. A Former Curse
3. Dialeague
4. The Key Of Genes
5. MC Iron
6. IB OK
7. In Theory
8. Roofs Of Heaven
9. The Flop
10. The Storm Is Yours
11. Observing Enlightenment
12. Black Spirals
13. Her Foreverness
14. Door Weer En Wind
Rating: 9.0/10
Label: Traum Schallplatten
Format: CD & digital
Release date: April 19th, 2010
