Music Review: Hybrid - Soundsystem 01 - Page 2

In fact, the excellent Spangled Rubdub mix of Sasha's "Coma" opens up this second half. The style is a bit hard to nail down, which is refreshing. It's a progressive /breaks /tech / house mix kind of thing, with a splash of trance in order to include that one guy in the back still popping glo-sticks. And this remix sets up well the set to follow for the next hour. But again, it's all still darker than most. Not to the point of sinister, but simply to say that it's not frivolous. If you happen to party, that's great. But we have loftier goals, as this is supposed to be music built to last.

The style overall is still a departure for Hybrid, as it tends to hover more in the four-on-the-floor realm than they're used to. But artists such as Sasha and Elite Force allow this to feel less limiting than it usually does. And Hybrid themselves join in the fun on this disc with two tracks of their own - "The Formula of Fear" with Charlotte James, as well as another collaboration with Harry Gregson Williams, "$50 Pistol".

Some of the highlights of this second half include the bass-tastic track "A Dark Distance" by Shifter and Carvell, followed by Hybrid's Matrix Dub of Longrange's "Just One More"; and the closing duo of Elite Force's trancey "Shivva" tagged with the Ambient Mix outro of Stefano Greppi's "Electro Pop." Of the two discs, number two wins for feeling of completeness, but doesn't quite capture the uniqueness of the first, with it's airy and otherworldly road map.

The overall pleasant surprise of Soundsystem 01 is that while it still retains a connection to Hybrid's sound, it doesn't sound too much like them. We have their albums for that, where they can control and create with more free reign. This is something altogether different, and with its own reward. We're treated to two completely different, but ultimately complementary, sets in one. And it's all held together by a duo expertly blending in their sound just enough to impact and mold the pieces provided by others. Which is how a proper mix set should be done.

Article Author: David R Perry

Lost somewhere in the rolling hills of Tennessee, David R Perry can occasionally be found doing dark, unspeakable things to words. Printed words, spoken words, electronically mangled words... really any kind but twittered words.

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