I love music. Even when I’ve heard it before, I still like to own it. This week, I made up for not getting a new CD last week by getting two. This week was Jon Hopkins week.
Jon is a pretty young artist (23 or 24 I believe) with a lot of skill. This is definitely not ambiant music. What Jon makes is a sort of upbeat chillout. It’s really lovely music too. I purchased Contact Note and The Art of Chill 2 (note: only 2 songs are actually Jon’s on the art of chill 2. That also has Brian Eno, Imogen Heap, Ulrich Schnauss and more). If you listen to di.fm, you’ve probably heard a lot of this. The full Art of Chill 2, both cds, gets played from time to time. About half of Contact Note is there too.
This is good and bad. It’s good because you will probably have a good idea if you like it regardless of what I say. It’s bad because there is a lot less suprise when you get the cds. I loved the cds anyway.
Contact Note is completely from Jon. His style is unique and shows a lot of skill. I can most closely relate it to Bliss, Alpha Conspiracy, and Cardamar, but he is different from them all. I hate to say it (because Cardamar is a great guy), but I think he shows them all up (although Cardamar is also younger than Jon). He goes from more aggressive tracks to some really beautiful weaving of vocals and chill vibes. It is his vocal track Second Sense (which also appears on Disc 2 of The Art of Chill 2) that impressed me, but unfortunately the rest was just very, very good. I realize that sounds strange, but all music enthusiests know the feeling when a song or even part is so good it gives you goosebumps or you are awestruck at the end (Namlook’s Silence I). Jon seemed to get so close to that so many times, but he didn’t carry it that last little bit (of which I cannot tell you what was wrong). Only once did I hear a less refined sound that reminded me a lot of early Bliss work and somewhat disappointed me. Excessively good overall. Good addition to any collection of chillout and a great indicator that the future could bring great things.
(Trivia: who might be the person who did the scratching for this cd? None other than our friend Xerxes)
The Art of Chill 2 is one of the best mixes I have heard EVER. It really is. I love Lucid Dreams from last November and Globespinning by Cardamar as well as a bunch more (Xexes, Marco Torrance, Noah, Jinn… so many artists). This still is impressive even after hearing it several times. Roots Minuva adds a nice feel to start it off that a blend of some of the best chill and effective voice puts together. Ulrich Schnauss contributes some excellent tracks in the compelation that ends up as something more than any of these artists create by themselves. Do not say that the music is all there is either. Hopkins really mixed it all extremely well (a good way to see the difference that the mixing itself can do is to look at Zeilenga’s mix and Globespinning. I like some of the tracks that Zeilenga took better, but Cardamar did a much better job mixing his together). I would have to say this is a must for all chillout lovers. It’s such a beautiful compelation that makes any day better. Must have.
What’s next for me? I’m thinking either of getting something from Ulrich Schnauss or maybe some more from FAX (Namlook’s label) since I’m missing a lot and a new cd came out in June. Cheers