A potent mix of dub, downtempo/trip-hop, hip hop, drum and bass/breakbeats, and cinematic spy-fi, The Angel's 2001 LP 'No Gravity' paints life after dark in moody, hypnotic, seductive soundstrokes.
'No Gravity' is the debut album from DJ/producer/sound engineer/remixer/TV and film score composer The Angel, who has previously and since recorded under the monikers 60 Channels and Jaz Klash, and has also since released several other titles as The Angel. Angel, who was raised in Brooklyn, moved to London, and is now based in Los Angeles, has also established her own music production company, Devilishly Good Productions, a record label, Supa Crucial Recordings, and a publishing company, Supa Crucial Music.
The first I ever heard of The Angel was sometime in late 2000, after watching the film Gridlock'd
for the first time over at my friend Steve's place. I was really digging the film score passages, and happened to spy her name in the closing credits. Not long thereafter, I began checking into her discography, but couldn't really find anything concrete.
Fast forward to 2003, when I was working at Sony Studios in their Film Soundtracks Department, an experience I described in rather (music)pornographic detail in a recent post. Sifting through the mounds and stacks and corrugated boxes as I scrambled to make some organizational sense of the epically disorganized so-called Sony Music Library, The Angel's 'No Gravity' just so happened to catch my peripheral eye. Serendipity indeed. Thanks, photographic memory!
In my opinion, 'No Gravity' stands as her most interesting and groove-oriented set of compositions. She blends and bends musical genres in a bubbling cauldron of bass and beats, icy, slightly spooky spiraling synths and digital programming, and vocals from a gaggle of guest artists that lend a layer of lyrical intrigue to the late-night lounging.
'In the Realms of the Groove' is an instrumental track that mixes droning electronica with varying pieces of digital flair, and some choice orchestral and jazz flourishes. The title cut, 'No Gravity,' is a brooding downtempo masterpiece punctuated by cinematic spy-fi synths and sparse guitar notes, held down by some seriously sinister deep dub basslines and choice breaks.
1. In the Realms of the Groove
2. No Gravity
Pharcyde alum Tré (Slimkid3) Hardson's expressively confessional, conversational, motivational vocals provide a compelling narrative on 'Make it Betta,' Some cool multi-tracking adds to the depth of the song's impact.
3. Make It Betta Feat. Tré Hardson
'See the players never cared about the rules of the game
Modified all the books and now all the tools changed
Even cool individuals start to act strange
And nowadays I keep 'em all at close range...
...I'll be damned if I work another 9 to 5
Just tryin' to barely stay alive in this rat race
Wake up every mornin' with the whack face
Cause the boss on the job really lacks taste...and compassion
(Hey how's it goin?')
Hey I feel like shit, thanks for askin'!
As I turn my clown mask in...
...'I can't run the same laps around the same bend
Without changing the patterns of the man within'
While I very much enjoy the No Gravity LP track Act As If (Act II Remix), it's actually the remix of this remix, Act As If (Act III Mix), from 2009's Supa Crucial Downtempo Remixes and Rarities, that has the slight edge in terms of overall vibe and soundscape. Rapper Divine Styler's aggressive lyrical stylins' are enhanced by spacey digital delay effects and repeating, minimalist orchestral note pickings, interspersed with some well-placed scratching.
Beyond my fave individual track recommendations, I maintain that the LP 'No Gravity' is best experienced in its entirety, to maximize the moonlight mysticism, moodiness, mischief, and nocturnal naughty niceties this album is sure to conjure up!
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