Artist: Kino Oko
Album: Lost Entertainement
Label: Horns and Hoofs Entertainment
Web: http://www.kinooko.prv.pl
Sonic-energy: http://www.sonic-energy.net/2005/12/album-kinooko.html
Year: 2005
Format: CD
Tracks:
01. Born Without Soul [130 BPM]
02. Metalic Mista [136]
03. Pasyonata [135]
04. Hippie Bones [135]
05. Colors of black [138]
06. Pan Prophet [135]
07. Atomic corner [135]
08. Industry of Broken Parts [135]
09. Well Done [140]
10. Dead Birds in The Sky [138]
11. Man upon the Rainbow [135]
What's this about
Kino Oko, better known in his hometown of Warsaw as Gregorz Magnuszewski, has been previously released as Tromesa (with Tomek Roer) and was part of the now legendary trio Big Wigs along with Jerzy Przezdziecki and Tomek. As far as I'm concerned this ensemble almost single handedly started the explosion of creativity coming from the Polish border, under the now established flag of Horns and Hoofs.
Composing music for over a decade starting with psychedelic rock from the 60's and 70's to electronica, Gregorz has successfully explored a number of different styles in his untiring quest for original sounds and he displays the entire repertoire here. “Lost Entertainment” marks a really interesting proposal, avoiding the roads less traveled by contemporary Psychedelia, to deliver fresh ideas soaked in nostalgia and the hippest form of retro. Add to that the horns and hoof's style and we're blurring the ideas of genres to near pointlessness.
Per-song break-down
01. Born Without Soul *
A homage to the 16 bit consoles way before the word PlayStation became fashionable. Twitchy-wobbly bass accompanies the classic line brooding from down-under. Bizarre voices growl and moan in pain to the main theme. It develops anthem-like qualities, subdued graciously by the melancholy of having beaten your first video-game. Commodore never sounded this good before -in it's roots anyway, even if the production has been carved to present day standards. Contrary to the name it has more soul and guts than I have heard in while...
02. Metalic Mista
The main ingredient here is the fast ‘metallic' chords taking form of the bass. The kick is thin and slender, stabbing the speakers like a pair of rusty daggers. The Metallic Mista is not as crazy as the movie named in the sample “ Cassino Royale!” nevertheless; converging opposing feelings with great ease. Not my favorite tune, those screeches bring back the 80's a bit too much for me. It's personal taste though the rest is quite decent.
03. Pasyonata *
That's right, the name implied a sonata. Now if we want to go by the ‘classic' definition a Sonata denotes (usually) a piece for piano… synth –whatever. It is divided in three movements: the first and the third bits moving faster. In the middle portion there is supposed to be note change, remaining melodic to the bone throughout. Mozart would have been proud.
04. Hippie Bones *
Slow-paced with chunky bass and a definite house spice in the mix. The Hippie Bones march unwavering in nature with a ‘like-it' or ‘change it policy'. Personally it slides to completion harmoniously without many changes, but enough gusto to keep the party going.
05. Colors of Black *
Let us leave our preconceptions aside for a moment: No, it is not Gregorz attempt at Dark Psychedelic. It sounds more like an IDM deviation straight from Richard D. James closet and Autechre's beat work by the intro. We do lift off back to life, with an everlasting pitchy-bendy pace. Bells sparkle soothing the whole experience. It is well churned out and anything that reminds me of IDM on top of a trance arrangement… actually making it work, deserves a thumb's up in my book.
06. Pan Prophet
An ingenious rhythm converging in organics, with an electro-tech feel and ambient pads. The Prophet effortlessly sheds his philosophy unburdened by any sort of build up or break. This stuff is catchy enough, without selling its soul to Beelzebub in return for more listeners.
07. Atomic corner
The surroundings get mysterious with the sudden switch of the ‘next' button. It is now that part of the game you have to get through without much joy, doing the nitty gritty stuff before we can move on to more rewarding activities. I don't really like the lead a bit too off-key and repetitive with strange spaced out breaks. The bass definite saves the track… but that's just me.
08. Industry of Broken Parts *
A healthy kick with a bass on multi-tap undulating through the beat work. This kind of trance I can digest without fear…It seems deceptively simple while keeping a certain key elements with tasty subtleness. As enjoyable as it might be, it does not seem to take me anywhere though. Whether that matters to you or not is relative.
09. Well Done *
The plucked organic bass here is just gold. And the kick is such damn bouncy, it sounds like a stripped-down version from the hard-core days. It peaks with Carmina Burana type of chants, and 80's guitar straight out past TV show. You know, the budget science fiction one… it's silly, but it's much fun!
10. Dead Birds in The Sky *
Would it be despicable to say those vocals by the end remind me of Cher 's vocodic style through the mid nineties? Now before you go running for the hills… I just want to say it does not bother me and I was never Cher 's fan. Ultimately it develops with such an amazingly simple hypnotism; it really does not pain me sticking around for the whole track. So I won't be buying Cher, but I have been playing this one a lot. Deservingly so too.
11. Man upon the Rainbow
Gregorz closed the compilation with a sound more reminiscent to ‘Well Done' than previous explorations. How does he fuse the 80's futurism, and old school rave making it sound like he still means business is a mystery to me. Judging by that description, why do I enjoy it is an even a bigger conundrum. I can almost hear some Quietman influences in the synths and this type of work apparently still puts a smile in my face. We don't forget where we came from…
* Favourites
All and all
Presentation-wise we find Inga Burina's work like is tradition now in HnH's and Boshke, molding her work to fit the theme of the album with her own spark. It's much like buying a new model of Converse sneakers. You know a bit what to expect, there is a classic nostalgic feel to it, but it's always so trendy. If you need a break from the industrial type of techno, back to funky town Kino Oko is gold in deed. Best purchase in a while…
Where to get
http://www.psyshop.com/shop/CDs/hah/hah1cd005.html
http://www.wirikuta.at/web66/product_detai...owDetail=107122
http://www.saikosounds.com/english/display...ase.asp?id=5395
