There were a lot of excellent electronic releases in 2012, but none moreso than Yppah's Eighty One. Mixing live instrumentation into his electronic music, Joe Corrales Jr. created a can't miss release and comes in at #10 in my Best of 2012. My original review is below.
Favorite tracks: "Never Mess With Sunday", "Soon Enough", "D. Song", "Blue Schwinn"
I'll cut right to the chase. This is the best electronic album I have heard so far in 2012. However, Yppah's music is so much more than just standard electronic and Eighty One ranks up there with the best of the year, regardless of genre.
It's hard to make a mostly instrumental album that captivates from start to finish. But Joe Corrales Jr. has done exactly that. Starting his career as a rock musician, Corrales brings that element into the music recorded as Yppah. These songs feature plenty of guitar, bass and live drums, mixed with his version of blissed out electronic, topped off with heavy beats.
The tracks on Eighty One all fall in the four to five minute range. Nothing overstays its welcome and it keeps the album flowing along nicely. This is far from chilled out electronic, although there is certainly beautiful music incorporated into most of these tracks. Yppah uses hard hitting beats to keep an edge to this material and look out for the guitar work featured prominently in the mix.
There are so many great songs here, my suggestion first and foremost is to listen to the whole thing, you will not be disappointed. But as with every full length there are favorites. The relaxing "Blue Schwinn" starts things off and sets the tone of the album. "D. Song" is one of four that features the vocal work of Anomie Belle and she fits this music to a tee. Belle also sings lead on the first single "Film Burn". "R. Mullen" calls to mind some of Moby's work on Play, while "Never Mess With Sunday" is simply stunning and my favorite track on the album. A lovely acoustic guitar line loops while uplifting keyboards and live drums send this one soaring into the atmosphere.
There are so many different styles and genres within electronic music and I am a big fan overall. But it is the material like this, warm, full of life and soul and mixed with organic elements that always affects me the most. I'm thrilled to have come across Yppah's music and I highly recommend you do as well. Eighty One is destined for my Best of 2012 list.
Eighty One was released April 3, 2012 on Ninja Tune Records.
Comments