Music Banter - View Single Post

Zarko · 04-07-2009, 08:12 AM

Architechnology – Rubberoom (1999)

GENRES – Rap, Hip Hop, Abstract

Born - 4:48
Smoke - 4:52
Lock Jaw - 4:38
The Revelry (Acapella) - 0:22
Bleach - 5:06
The Shining - 3:30
Acid - 5:37
Vertigo (Extended Mix) - 7:19
Sector Rush Rmx (Rebuilt) - 5:39
Style Wars - 6:51
Architechnology Nine - 5:18
Pathway To The Abyss - 1:38
Offering 1366 - 2:44
Trial Of The Vampire - 3:41
Space And Time - 7:21
Operation Forever - 4:49

Anybody who knows me, knows that I am hardly the type to actively look for new rap music… It is my ‘nonchalant’ genre, in that more often than not, I can handle it in the background (Unless its Australian rap :p) and there is some stuff that I genuinely like (Run DMC, some Public Enemy) but more often than not, it’s a genre I can live without. I was about to pass up on Rubberoom’s 1999 release of Architechnology before I thought ‘What the hell, may as well use an extra 100MB here and there’ on some risks. Needless to say, it is probably one of my favourite risks in a while. My mates all listen to rap, of all types, but Architechnology was simply different and fresh for me. Some great beats, some nice lyricism, and just overall solid production has made this my favourite rap album of all time. Of course, it is still rap, so it won’t take to some peoples liking. Please note, I never review rap albums, and am overall ignorant on the genre, and have no idea how to describe some things, so bear with me. Also, given the beastly number of tracks, I won’t run through everyone to great detal, as I normally do.

The opening track, ‘Born’, at times is an example of why the album felt different to me… It had some more abstract beats that were implemented by The Opus to make the backing seem more important than just to add depth the rapping. The neoclassical string group with the mixing give it’s a dark/industrial sort of feel, as the artists, Lumba and Meta Mo, add to this with some raw and precise lyrics. They don’t **** around too much, tyring to overdo themselves as some rappers do, but use their voices in conjunction with the deep backing to create and awesome finished piece. In ‘Smoke’, is an attack on ‘mainstream’ hip hop and rap, and here the true value of the two artists become obvious. The contrast between the two is great, Lumba producing a nice legato in comparison to Meta Mo’s harsher staccato.

‘The Revelry’ is a nice interlude, just a simple accapella piece of pure rapping. ‘Bleach’ marks an awesome triplet of songs on the album. Bleach has more solid industrial and distorted backing, creating an image of a destroyed futuristic landscape. The lyrics revolve around this bleak idea, and it also introduces the best line on the album, ‘Keep it classic, so it lasts like acid’. I don’t know why it appeals to me, it simply does. ‘The Shining’ is another well constructed piece, great in its simplicity… The whole pace is turned down a beat, as the repetitive drumming leads Lumba through a half of the song. The song, as well as the upcoming creates a dark toxicity, as if they are dangerous to the listener. ‘Acid’ is my favourite song on the album, the lyricism and backing having a dark and twisted feeling. The backing is particularly splendid, with its simple fusion of electronics, classical aspects and industrial. The resultant ethereal and pronounced backing works fascinatingly in combination with the rapping, as they discuss the darkest aspects of humanity.

‘Vertigo’ is worth mentioning simply for the chilled dub trip hop opening. The background really is more important than the rapping in this piece for me. The light piano work and random sampling adds some beautiful depth, enough for it to be a solid trip hop song if left alone. The distorted vocals are also an attractive touch. The ending is just a lost collection of all the samples and sounds be used, more of the abstract beats that make the album my favourite.

‘Style Wars’ pulls out some of the fastest rapping on the piece, and it carries the dark, spacey backing that is present on other tracks. The echo used throughout the track is a good addition that keeps the track from getting too boring, same goes with the French horn introduced half way through the song. ‘Architechnology Nine’ is chock full of the experimentalism that makes these guys worth checking out. The opening back beat is some odd amalgamation of drumming and some ancient string based instrument sound. As the rapping is introduced, the electronics and dubbing pick up to create the image of a huge landscape, as the listener looks over this land. Something, however, is very wrong with this land, as the depth is overpowered by the harsh distorted drumming and vocals, and it gives the song an overwhelming yet amazing little build up. This is before it is all forced out of the picture and replaced with the harsh vocals alone. It’s a standout track on the album overall.

‘Trial Of The Vampire’ is another piece where the backing stands out over the rapping. The ancient base is mixed to bring it forward into the future, but it still has some telltale signs of being old… The piano, the old wolves howl, and light female vocalist, all add touches here and there to complete it into a full fledged section of the song that would remain interesting alone. However, in this case the drumming and vocals add to the depth and haunting nature of the song. ‘Operation Forever’ offers an strange almost alt rock electronic background to the rapping. The offbeat guitar plucking, with the other random instruments (Shakers, some unidentifiable wind/brass instrument) make this a song worth sticking through just to pick up on these oddities. The final song ‘Pathway To The Abyss’ is a short track that adds a sense of sad closure. The sax is a great addition to the final song, adding up some variety to this primarily instrumental piece. It is an awesome way to end the album, as it’s simply different.

Overall, this is an album that I fell in love with from first listen. Unlike a lot of 80 minute rap albums, which struggle through due to a repetitive sound sometimes, or just poorly constructed songs, Architechnology is a pleasure to sit through. It isn’t as harsh as some, it has some fantastic beats, and it’s just different to what you normally hear. It’s clean yet raw at the same time, and considering it’s a rap album, for me to love it is a strong suggestion that you GET THIS ALBUM if you have even a passing fancy in the genre. It would definitely fall somewhere in my top 20 albums of all time.

TOTAL SCORE

8.5/10

- Born
– Acid (Very poor quality, apologies)
– Architechnology Nine

04-07-2009, 08:12 AM	#4 (permalink)
Zarko Barely Disheveled Zombie Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Australia Posts: 1,196	Architechnology – Rubberoom (1999) GENRES – Rap, Hip Hop, Abstract Born - 4:48 Smoke - 4:52 Lock Jaw - 4:38 The Revelry (Acapella) - 0:22 Bleach - 5:06 The Shining - 3:30 Acid - 5:37 Vertigo (Extended Mix) - 7:19 Sector Rush Rmx (Rebuilt) - 5:39 Style Wars - 6:51 Architechnology Nine - 5:18 Pathway To The Abyss - 1:38 Offering 1366 - 2:44 Trial Of The Vampire - 3:41 Space And Time - 7:21 Operation Forever - 4:49 Anybody who knows me, knows that I am hardly the type to actively look for new rap music… It is my ‘nonchalant’ genre, in that more often than not, I can handle it in the background (Unless its Australian rap :p) and there is some stuff that I genuinely like (Run DMC, some Public Enemy) but more often than not, it’s a genre I can live without. I was about to pass up on Rubberoom’s 1999 release of Architechnology before I thought ‘What the hell, may as well use an extra 100MB here and there’ on some risks. Needless to say, it is probably one of my favourite risks in a while. My mates all listen to rap, of all types, but Architechnology was simply different and fresh for me. Some great beats, some nice lyricism, and just overall solid production has made this my favourite rap album of all time. Of course, it is still rap, so it won’t take to some peoples liking. Please note, I never review rap albums, and am overall ignorant on the genre, and have no idea how to describe some things, so bear with me. Also, given the beastly number of tracks, I won’t run through everyone to great detal, as I normally do. The opening track, ‘Born’, at times is an example of why the album felt different to me… It had some more abstract beats that were implemented by The Opus to make the backing seem more important than just to add depth the rapping. The neoclassical string group with the mixing give it’s a dark/industrial sort of feel, as the artists, Lumba and Meta Mo, add to this with some raw and precise lyrics. They don’t ** around too much, tyring to overdo themselves as some rappers do, but use their voices in conjunction with the deep backing to create and awesome finished piece. In ‘Smoke’, is an attack on ‘mainstream’ hip hop and rap, and here the true value of the two artists become obvious. The contrast between the two is great, Lumba producing a nice legato in comparison to Meta Mo’s harsher staccato. ‘The Revelry’ is a nice interlude, just a simple accapella piece of pure rapping. ‘Bleach’ marks an awesome triplet of songs on the album. Bleach has more solid industrial and distorted backing, creating an image of a destroyed futuristic landscape. The lyrics revolve around this bleak idea, and it also introduces the best line on the album, ‘Keep it classic, so it lasts like acid’. I don’t know why it appeals to me, it simply does. ‘The Shining’ is another well constructed piece, great in its simplicity… The whole pace is turned down a beat, as the repetitive drumming leads Lumba through a half of the song. The song, as well as the upcoming creates a dark toxicity, as if they are dangerous to the listener. ‘Acid’ is my favourite song on the album, the lyricism and backing having a dark and twisted feeling. The backing is particularly splendid, with its simple fusion of electronics, classical aspects and industrial. The resultant ethereal and pronounced backing works fascinatingly in combination with the rapping, as they discuss the darkest aspects of humanity. ‘Vertigo’ is worth mentioning simply for the chilled dub trip hop opening. The background really is more important than the rapping in this piece for me. The light piano work and random sampling adds some beautiful depth, enough for it to be a solid trip hop song if left alone. The distorted vocals are also an attractive touch. The ending is just a lost collection of all the samples and sounds be used, more of the abstract beats that make the album my favourite. ‘Style Wars’ pulls out some of the fastest rapping on the piece, and it carries the dark, spacey backing that is present on other tracks. The echo used throughout the track is a good addition that keeps the track from getting too boring, same goes with the French horn introduced half way through the song. ‘Architechnology Nine’ is chock full of the experimentalism that makes these guys worth checking out. The opening back beat is some odd amalgamation of drumming and some ancient string based instrument sound. As the rapping is introduced, the electronics and dubbing pick up to create the image of a huge landscape, as the listener looks over this land. Something, however, is very wrong with this land, as the depth is overpowered by the harsh distorted drumming and vocals, and it gives the song an overwhelming yet amazing little build up. This is before it is all forced out of the picture and replaced with the harsh vocals alone. It’s a standout track on the album overall. ‘Trial Of The Vampire’ is another piece where the backing stands out over the rapping. The ancient base is mixed to bring it forward into the future, but it still has some telltale signs of being old… The piano, the old wolves howl, and light female vocalist, all add touches here and there to complete it into a full fledged section of the song that would remain interesting alone. However, in this case the drumming and vocals add to the depth and haunting nature of the song. ‘Operation Forever’ offers an strange almost alt rock electronic background to the rapping. The offbeat guitar plucking, with the other random instruments (Shakers, some unidentifiable wind/brass instrument) make this a song worth sticking through just to pick up on these oddities. The final song ‘Pathway To The Abyss’ is a short track that adds a sense of sad closure. The sax is a great addition to the final song, adding up some variety to this primarily instrumental piece. It is an awesome way to end the album, as it’s simply different. Overall, this is an album that I fell in love with from first listen. Unlike a lot of 80 minute rap albums, which struggle through due to a repetitive sound sometimes, or just poorly constructed songs, Architechnology is a pleasure to sit through. It isn’t as harsh as some, it has some fantastic beats, and it’s just different to what you normally hear. It’s clean yet raw at the same time, and considering it’s a rap album, for me to love it is a strong suggestion that you GET THIS ALBUM if you have even a passing fancy in the genre. It would definitely fall somewhere in my top 20 albums of all time. TOTAL SCORE 8.5/10** - Born – Acid (Very poor quality, apologies) – Architechnology Nine Last edited by Zarko; 08-12-2009 at 06:25 AM.