Let's Get Killed

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Thu Jun 16 2022

1

Genre: Breakbeat 1/5 I am a nice, fair reviewer, who generally doesn't have many problems with the music I'm listening to. This is my 171st album generated and listened to, and this was the first time in this exercise where I was plainly disgusted throughout the wide majority of the listen. I've listened to some bad Elvis Costello, some bad Bob Dylan, and some awfully mediocre 90s post-grunge, but this easily takes the shit cake. David Holmes' 1997 album Let's Get Killed is an exercise in dullness. A true techno dud with nothing redeeming, nothing that changes the form, and nothing that keeps you interested. The sampling is lazy and bad, the beats are monotonous and never-changing, and the effort to give himself (a white man from the UK) any form of NYC street cred is cringy, bizarre, and almost gentrifying. Nothing progresses, nothing excites, nothing is moving throughout the entire runtime. There's a song on the album, Freaknik, that starts with a man telling a story about being kicked out of a bar for dancing. He ends his story by saying "how am I supposed to release...this...ENERGY!", and it's immediately followed by 5-6 minutes of utter nothingness, in what appears to be the least energetic followup to a man screaming that I have ever heard. Radio 7, and its unbelievably lazy James Bond sample, is among the most aggravating tracks I've ever sat through. This is not good. A complete non-starter, not essential in any way, and takes up a spot that any other album in the universe should own. There is no purpose to have this album on this list. A waste of an hour that I will never get back.

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Wed Feb 10 2021

3

I expected to hate this and I didn't. It wasn't like ... super interesting or anything. But it was good background music to my morning. Easy to ignore but still providing a good energy. Honestly, if these were break beats behind a rap vocal, the songs would crush. As it is, they feel mostly incomplete. Still good tracks, though.I expected to hate this and I didn't. It wasn't like ... super interesting or anything. But it was good background music to my morning. Easy to ignore but still providing a good energy. Honestly, if these were break beats behind a rap vocal, the songs would crush. As it is, they feel mostly incomplete. Still good tracks, though.

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Fri Sep 17 2021

1

This app claims to list "1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die". David Holmes named the album "Let's Get Killed". I would, to be honest, be happy if this had happened before I listened to this garbage

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Thu Sep 10 2020

5

This album was David Holmes second release and build on his previous album ("This Films Crap, Let's Slash the Seats"), with the emphasis on building immersive film scores/soundtracks, referencing Funky downtempo broken Beat's ("Let's get Killed") , Contemporary 70's Guitar melodramatic fusion ("My Mate Paul"), lively instrumental soul ("Gritty Shaker"), or even a reinterpretation of what the James Bond theme would sound like under the musical direction of David (Radio 7). There's even an expertly implemented stab at funky dance track ("Freaknik"), but as brilliantly devised as all this tracks are.....the one truly defining moment is arguably David's finest moment, the encapsulation of New York city night time life....The string, guitar, violin orchestrated arrangements of ("Don't Die Just Yet"), a 6 minute epic that showcases David impeccable ear for composition & creation of music, that is defiantly at odds with current trends in music, but remains a blissfully realised piece of music.

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Fri Nov 19 2021

4

What a find. I was aware of David Holmes as I loved his soundtrack to the film Out of Sight, starring a certain J-Lo. This pastiche of urban ramblings against a backdrop of urgent beats works really well.

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Fri Jul 09 2021

5

Big beats are the best, get high all the time. Props to this album for sampling both Serge Gainsbourg and the James Bond theme. Unreal stuff.

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Wed Feb 03 2021

4

Lot of nostalgia in this one for me - takes me right back to first year uni. Love how cinematic the album feels. Could absolutely be a soundtrack to something, and it's no wonder Holmes went on to do so much soundtrack work. (He did all the Ocean's Eleven movies, amongst many others) Fave track - "Caddell Returns", maybe - it's not really about stand out tracks, it's about wandering around the neighborhood, soaking it in!

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Sun Jul 04 2021

4

Very much of its era, got vibes of early Fat Boy Slim and people like The Wiseguys too, lounge dance groove style. Also got some early dub electronic / DnB vibes. Middle of the road, never been hugely my thing but I did listen to this kinda stuff when I was younger so I can definitely get behind it and enjoy it. Think I've heard Gritty Shaker before on one of Dave Dews chilled ibiza style compilation albums, defo heard Rodney Yates before, absolute tune. 3.5/5 but gona round up to 4 cos feelin generous.

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Fri Nov 19 2021

4

Trippy trance intro. Very cinematic sounding. Love the breaks, samples and ambience. Great pick!

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Tue May 18 2021

3

The good tracks here are absolute killers. But it suffers from incohesive voice sampling and This-90s-Album-is-too-long-itis, so it's not something I'm likely to come back to in full anytime soon. That James Bond song is fantastic though.

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Wed Feb 03 2021

3

This is like a soundtrack for a bad spy movie. Dance music made albumatic but it's giving me some Fatboy Slim vibes. I can see this with some strobe lights but I'm not quite having fun. The drinks cost too much, I'm somehow under *and* over dressed and the stink of hugo boss haunts the air. The slice of life vocal samples are really inspired but not grabbing. Makes me miss New York and also Fail to understand New York. The middle of the album is a huge improvement over the first few tracks. Especially the reworked James Bond Theme

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Thu Jan 20 2022

2

Unimpressed and somewhat bored by this one. Some fun ideas here, but there wasn't enough variety to keep me interested throughout the long listen. I think this is mainly due to my lack of appreciation for the EDM genre in general: while I can understand why some might enjoy this style of music, it just comes across as polished noise to me while also having a tendency to become very repetitive. With 'Let's Get Killed', I felt like I was listening to a solid soundtrack for a Nintendo 64 spy game (I unironically felt this way even before reaching the 007 cover which ended up cementing these notions immediately). While some of the songs on here might be catchy when looking at it through this made-up context, I don't necessarily feel the same way towards them knowing they come from a standalone album, let alone one that is included on the 1001 Albums You Should Hear Before You Die. It would be fine in the background as it is pretty harmless outside of some vulgar language in the talking segments, but there was nothing enticing or memorable here that would make me want to come back to it in the future, especially considering the absurdly long track lengths present throughout the whole record. I can't say that I hated it, but it was pretty mediocre in my eyes. 2/5.

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Mon Jan 24 2022

2

So gar nix besonderes

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Thu Feb 10 2022

2

Also ein paar tracks waren ganz cool, eben diese oldschool-hip hop beats, aber diesen Geheimagenten-LARP hätte man sich sparen können. Außerdem viel zu lang, jeder Song iwie nur eine einzige Idee über 5 minuten gezogen

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Fri Feb 05 2021

5

Molt top! Creació de imatges sonores

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Wed Feb 24 2021

5

Een soort van instrumentale electro-jazz. Absoluut niets wat ik uit mezelf zou opzetten. Maar ik heb er vreemd genoeg wel van genoten (op de achtergrond). Eentje om te onthouden

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Mon May 17 2021

5

Spaced!

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Mon Nov 22 2021

5

Glad I've found this one. Great electronic music.

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Mon Jan 10 2022

5

Amazing. New York Street sounds in the 90's with a eclectic sound. And he's Irish

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Sun Apr 10 2022

5

Pretty cool 90s electronica. A lot of fun. Cool look at that moment where hiphop and electronica were just starting to part and go their separate ways.

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Fri Jul 15 2022

5

What a peculiar album... Feels like every song is from a different genre and artist even. Got some psychedelic, some hip hop. Loads of really good instrumentals and funky sounds. It's a bit of a journey, I really liked it. Super chill at the end.

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Tue Aug 23 2022

5

total bangers: +my mate paul + lets get killed + Radio7

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Fri Sep 23 2022

5

A real banger, some tracks were real long or short for what seemed to be no reason but definitely a good one

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Fri Dec 23 2022

5

A lovely surprise - late 90s electronic - in a slight vein of the Chemical Brothers but at the same time it’s own thing - drawing from Reggae, funk and Jazz. The field recordings that litters the album really give a context to the whole record while the music itself is impeccable from start to finish. Enjoyed this one very well.

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Thu Apr 20 2023

5

So much my vibe

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Mon May 15 2023

5

My kind of music, surprised I haven't heard of it before.

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Wed May 24 2023

5

Interesting electronic music - especially with all the real-life recordings. The moody music paints vivid pictures that make for a compelling listen.

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Mon Sep 14 2020

4

Fun, carefree, vintage and summery 8.5/10

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Fri Jan 22 2021

4

Heel vet, ga dit zeker op zetten tijdens het chillen, zijn tijd ook ver vooruit nog nog steeds relevant, gave mix van verschillende soorten edm

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Fri Jan 22 2021

4

Nice album

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Fri Jan 22 2021

4

Daí que vem oceans 11

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Wed Mar 17 2021

4

Definitely going to find more by this guy

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Wed Apr 07 2021

4

Surprisingly good

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Fri May 14 2021

4

I liked it. I had head some of it before not knowing the name. Some of the street talk was amusing some annoying. The music was very cinematic and energetic. Good stuff.

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Fri Jun 18 2021

4

This is the kind of gem that I somehow missed along the way.

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Thu Feb 04 2021

4

Some really subtle and lowkey work, but it scratches a certain itch

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Fri Jul 09 2021

4

Viiiiiibes

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Wed Jan 27 2021

4

Better than expected

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Wed Feb 24 2021

4

You know that situation where you don't really know what to think of it so you just smile and say: "oh, da's speciaal!"? Well, this album is exactly that.

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Thu May 27 2021

4

More electronica! Yaay! Pretty good, but I wasn't overwhelmed.

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Mon Jun 28 2021

4

ну из всего чила пока что самая годнота. прикольные внятные мотивы, настроение чувствуется, сэмплы довольно интересные (последний трек вообще эпик). Конечно, это всё ещё фоновая музыка, но хорошая фоновая музыка, за работой вполне могу включить, 7/10

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Wed Sep 29 2021

4

Really liked this 4*

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Mon Oct 18 2021

4

Big beat mit technoider Eskalationsfähigkeit. Dazu die damalig so viel aufkommende wie wirkmächtige Verwendung von Field Recordings. Zwischen Norman Cook und James Lavelle sitzen Bass-schwere 3.8

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Wed Nov 17 2021

4

Oceans 11 sound, cool bond theme as well.

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Wed Nov 24 2021

4

beh sì discone, musica per il cinema, anche da sottofondo

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Sun Nov 28 2021

4

Very good album…. This is one for the revisit!

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Wed Dec 29 2021

4

When thinking about my appetite for music without lyrics, a few contradictions appear. I'm not someone who focuses on the lyrics, if it sounds good, then I'd listen to it. Lyrics is just a bonus, or a part of the context for me. Good lyrics with terrible sound... I might just read poems instead. But music without lyrics seems... incomplete sometimes. It's seems difficult for songs -- if they ARE called "songs" -- like these to be a solid whole experience. But I do listen to songs without lyrics, or even without context. Pink Floyd's epic 20+ minute "Atom Heart Mother" comes to mind. The track is as nonsense as the title, yet I like it. But I'm still struggling to justify why, for example, I like classical music of Chopin or Beethoven but dislike something like jazz. What makes a wordless track listenable, at least for me? "Let's Get Killed" is an hour of electronica fiddling with an aim to create movie soundtracks, and I enjoyed it. I was moved by the beats and the instrumental fiddlings in this album. But why? My hypothesis is that some wordless tracks, like the ones in this album, takes me into an adventure. It makes me conjure images of scenes or emotions. The way a violin passionately rejoices, or the beats weave a sense of conflict. Whatever the reason. I like this album. Though I might only come back to it if I want a good background music. But still, it's energetic and quite fun for a background music (ignoring the conversation snippets, of course).

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Sun Jan 02 2022

4

Interesting. Great use of the street-recorded spoken word. Great background music for creating.

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Wed Jan 05 2022

4

Groovin'

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Fri Jan 14 2022

4

Didn't know what to expect. Pleasantly suprised. Heavy RJD2 vibes

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Mon Jan 24 2022

4

Unexpectedly good to listen to. Love that the vocal samples were recorded by them on the streets of New York, adds something to the great tunes for me.

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Wed Feb 09 2022

4

Not much in the way of lyrics, sounds like a soundtrack great listen though

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Thu Feb 10 2022

4

Das fand ich ganz cool. Ist schon sehr dreist lieder die so einfach zu greifen sind sieben minuten lang laufen zu lassen aber seis drum, also hab im moment nicht wirklich drauf gewarter wanns aufhört. Musikalisch war auch viel ganz nett auch wenns teilweise imo bisschen zu sehr nach etwas klang was iwer beim kiffen anmacht. Das james bond ding war iwie dümmlich aber nicht dümmlich genug um es deswegen zu feiern

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Fri Mar 11 2022

4

it was alright. a very interesting middle point of most electronic stuff i’ve heard. enjoyed

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Fri Mar 18 2022

4

This takes me back to the clubs in the 90s. This album is very indicative of the 90s electronic clubs sound, bonus, the segue's between songs with the live dialogue is clever - especially with the James Bond Theme. 4/5

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Fri Mar 18 2022

4

This is my kind of music, though I didn’t know David Holmes when I started listening. Innovative DJ trip hop with lots of mixing and sampling. How did I not know this. Reminded me a little of the Avalanches- who came a few years later.

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Thu Apr 07 2022

4

I might've found my first new niche thanks to 1001. Loved some of the samples, especially the interview fragments/monologues - they gave a lot of character and life to this album. As of the music - it wasn't all that fascinating, but it definitely wasn't boring - had some interesting choices and was mixed well. Overall, it's just a great record. Highlight: Caddell Returns

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Thu Apr 07 2022

4

A great compilation of sounds - great to listen to in the background. It feels stimulating, it's interesting, it plays with some fun concept - making it simply fun. It's difficult to put into words what makes this type of album good, so let me end simply with this: despite there being little words, I felt as if I've heard a really engaging story. Highlights: Let's get Killed, Freaknik, Radio 7

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Mon Apr 11 2022

4

The first recommended song after this album let me know this is the guy who did the Ocean's Eleven soundtrack! Interesting. I enjoyed the album, it was maybe a touch further in the background than I wanted, but still good music and it had some interesting ambient sound / conversation that helped to tell a story through the album.

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Fri Jun 17 2022

4

Chill thinking Qunatic maybe a bit better. This clips with relaxing 'electronica' nice!

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Thu Jul 07 2022

4

Really feeling the grooves and beats here today. I loved the samples. Could see myself roadtripping with this on.

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Wed Aug 17 2022

4

I'd forgotten how good this album was, but then it was the late 90s. Love the way the genuine conversations are woven into the tracks.

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Thu Sep 29 2022

4

This resonates to a late 90s early 00s soundtrack. It's like quintessential of that time in mind. The field recordings of NYC pimps and drug dealers feels a little exploitative.

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Thu Oct 06 2022

4

one of the coolest albums on this list so far. with albums only providing an audio experience, it's harder to string together a story or theme, unlike other forms of media. but you wouldn't think so with this album! david holmes did a great job using only electronic sounds and minimal, intermittent dialogue to create a story. it comes as no surprise to me that holmes has created the music for many movies and tv shows after listening to this album. i recognized holmes' name instantly because i am absolutely obsessed with the ocean's franchise, and it was such a treat to hear some of the ocean's soundtrack in this album ("gritty shaker", "rodney yates") in a slightly different format. i can have a small easter egg, as a treat. and the james bond number was an interesting homage, too!

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Wed Oct 19 2022

4

Snuck up and surprised me. Expected hiphop but got electric jazz-ish with a very solid beatline.

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Wed Nov 02 2022

4

I love this: it relaxes me, doesn't bore and the James bond theme cover fills me with nostalgia.

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Wed Nov 02 2022

4

Some nice electronic music, really enjoy the vibes in some of the songs while in others it can feel a bit too much at times. Generally works really well in the background

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Thu Nov 10 2022

4

Good shit

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Thu Nov 17 2022

4

Not what I was expecting, had a couple of songs I recognised. I surprisingly enjoyed the album

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Fri Nov 25 2022

4

Danceable Lounge music

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Thu Dec 01 2022

4

Really good stuff, not sure I've listened to an album before but always liked his music. Best song Don't Die Just Yet..

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Sun Jan 01 2023

4

On the one hand it's the sort of trip-hoppy, cinematic stuff I love. On the other, it's a bit polite and dinner party stuff. But I favourited three tracks so I clearly like it! You can see how he ended up with the James Bond job!

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Mon Jan 02 2023

4

Good music to listen while traveling

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Thu Jan 12 2023

4

Très bien!

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Sun Feb 19 2023

4

I enjoyed this more than I expected. It's solid chill house & was a great listen while I walked my dog in the dusk.

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Wed Mar 01 2023

4

Sounds like early / unrefined DJ Shadow. DH went way overboard on the dialog samples. A little goes a long way, man.

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Wed Mar 01 2023

4

Overall a solid album, but too little highlights for a top rating.

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Wed Mar 29 2023

4

Another new album to me. Closest thing I listen to regularly that's similar is DJ Shadow. I liked all the spoken sound bytes, it gave the album overall a very "scenes from NY" kind of feel.

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Sun Apr 02 2023

4

Really good stuff. Music with a sustained grooves

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Wed Apr 05 2023

4

I warmed up to this. I'll need to listen again though. An unusual mix of different substyles.

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Thu Apr 20 2023

4

Oontz oontz

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Thu Apr 20 2023

4

Great for working

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Wed May 24 2023

4

Yay, so some more electronica. I think that this works better as a rhythmic background track than anything else. However, as a background track to a conversation with my wife, the comment that she made was something to the tone of "what are you listening to that just keeps repeating itself"?

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Wed May 24 2023

4

There were moments I really loved in this, some moments I could have done without, but it was always interesting and creative.

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Sat May 27 2023

4

Some great grooves. Interesting to find out he was behind the Ocean's trilogy soundtracks - I've always liked that music but did not know who was behind it. "Don't Die Just Yet" was particularly good.

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Tue Oct 20 2020

3

Taustamusaa

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Fri Apr 30 2021

3

Techno-style house music, very 90s but i dig it

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Sat Jul 17 2021

3

It was something

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Wed Feb 03 2021

3

Made me feel like I was in a Mr Robot montage where I was probably hacking something in a garage while someone else was spray painting in a dark alley. Definitely got Tetris 64 vibes from a lot of the tracks. Not really my bag this, but not awful!

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Tue May 04 2021

3

3 stars

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Mon Apr 19 2021

3

trippy, atmosphere noises. lots of f-bombs

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Mon Jun 14 2021

3

I don’t get the appeal. It’s okay. But it’s not fatboy slim or the propellers or chemical brothers. It’s not that interesting.

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Sat Apr 24 2021

3

The interviews sprinkled into the mix add a sense of time and place. The music itself can be a bit forgettable at times, though.

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Fri Apr 23 2021

3

This was some pretty hiphop type music

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Wed Jul 14 2021

3

Un bon album electro pour travailler, c’est parfait 3.5

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Wed Jan 20 2021

3

David Holmes album was a pleasant surprise. For something listed under the “Electronic” genre it wasn’t what I expected. Coming out the same year as “Homewark” by Daft Punk I wasn’t sure what to expect. I hadn’t really heard of Holmes either. The album gives off a soundtrack vibe that sticks you into New York. The only vocals are that of New Yorkers in conversation that had been recorded by Holmes on a trip in the late 80’s. The music and style puts you there, some of the bass lines and drum beats are very late 80’s but can also have a 90’s flare. It is not in any way French house, nor is it meant to be. “Radio 7”” is the only song that I felt was a little cheeky. Essentially it is a remix of the classic James Bond film theme, it is well done. Overall I’d give this a 7.5 out of 10.

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Fri Jun 25 2021

3

5

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Tue Apr 20 2021

3

It wasn't bad, but pretty sleepy and uneventful. I liked the james bond remix, and Don't Die Just yet was good too. Skits were fun

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Wed May 12 2021

3

ok, fairly forgettable

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Tue Apr 20 2021

3

I liked this album quite a bit. Weirdly, it gave me almost Khraungbin vibes

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