Friday, October 12, 2007

Big Wheel - Beat Inertia

Hear The Track Here

Fast turning into an excellent reviewer on Soundclick (and not because he reviewed one of my new tracks so nrrrr), the wheeled wonder has made his mark on this site in a relatively short time, thanks to his own musical prowess. It may seem strange to say that, considering that El Grande Rueda has - by his own admission - only been doing this for just over a year. Welp, I've often been accused of flattering people in reviews and now I hope I can finally put that one to rest. I try to always review objectively whoever it is that's in the hot seat. Like any functioning sentient, I have my picks and foibles but I try hard not to let those things colour my judgement. When I say an artist has considerable chops then - as is my wont - I mean it whole heartedly and in complete truth. I don't mean to be flattering, merely accurate in my speech. (Ed: fekk me Gilmore, this is not a confessional, get on with it!)

OK, Big Wheel rites gud choooonz. Better? :P

Big Wheel is in fact a live musician; I have reviewed his band Tin Gods in the past and enjoyed the experience but its his solo work that has really caught my attention. From the strains of Far Away (July 2006) on down, his knack of arrangements and sounds has bulled its way to the forefront of the electronica field (at least on Soundclick) and rightly so. It isn't often that one (aaarrgghh, I can't believe I just said that!) encounters electronica with melody and interest built in and that is a central hallmark of all of Big Wheels output. As the man himself says (and I heartily concur) he makes 'original electronica for chillage, danceage, noddage and groovage.

Yes, rites gud chooonz too... (sigh)

The Wheel has been on a bit of a housey housey jag just lately, and he promises that this may be the last before he heads nack to his normal musical pastures, and that's fine by me. Sure I liked some house styles, and I personally like playing around with the style but if I had my drutherfs (wtf ARE druthers anyway?) I wouldn't choose to sit and listen to it. Having said that, BW's version of history is always worth checking out simply because this is a man who knows what he is doing. House piano in particular has always impressed me and there are some fine examples of that style through this track as are the obvious nods to how it was back in the day. All of which makes Beat Inertia extremely listenable even for an old philistine such as yours truly. I'm curious to know how these various tracks have stacked up in competition. Maybe we can expect some enlightenment??

Highly Recommended classic House.

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