Released - 1/27/09
Label - Old Tacoma Records
BLURB - Like a fine wine, Eliott Lipp is constantly getting better with age. The producer / DJ / electronic mastermind proved that, 'The Outside' was not a fluke and in doing so may have invalidated his previous releases. This one is hard to put down. Welcome to the elite.
Rating: 9.5 out of 10
FULL STORY - The story goes for musicians, that one will focus and listen to the music that they are currently involved with. Four months ago I purchased my first synthesizer, and predictably became obsessed with electronic music and experimenting with new sounds. Now I am no pro by any stretch of the imagination, but my experience with electronic music has really helped me appreciate and differentiate between outstanding and mediocre work. I bought Eliot Lipp's - 'The Outside' nearly 8 months ago for the sole reason of seeing he was opening up for the Pnuma Trio for a couple shows. I had never heard of him, but was obsessed with Pnuma Trio at the time. The Trio is one of these new 'Jamtronica' bands that have been quickly gaining notoriety through not only their recordings but their amazing live shows. This genre of music started growing as a part of the post-Phish era and is generally typified as a fusion of jazz, jam, house and electronic music.
My biggest (only) gripe with Lipp's previous release was that there was often too much space and down time in his work. The production value was amazing, but in attempt to strike a mood with the listener Lipp often was reluctant to show progress with certain tracks. The ability was there, but complacency may have snuck in rendering songs unable to push forward. 'Peace Love Weed 3D' not only corrects this flaw, but forces the listener to apologize for ever doubting his potential. Every track in this record not only has a great vibe, but goes somewhere. Lipp does a great job of initiating a solid groove and then slowly reworking it into a completely new groove, and into another. This creates the experience of a club scene where there is a great mix going on, and then all of sudden 4 minutes later there is an entirely different mix going on, but the transitions were so well organized that you had never noticed the change in tempo or beat.
The greatest compliment I can give for an electronic artist is recognizing the ability to string a listener along without having them lose interest. Often times beats and grooves and jams can become monotonous, and while they are addictive at first listen, after 5 minutes if nothings happened I'm going to move on. That's my knock on techno music. Every techno song is unbelievable for the first 3 minutes, but after that I'd rather be folding laundry or grocery shopping. Lipp has a very subtle way of conveying mood and voicing through precise organization, and while this seems like a complex way of forming a song, it always seems effortless. He never has to convince the listener - the momentum and talent appears instantaneously and continuously.
Segueing off of the above, I love analogies. In life the talented, well-groomed, attractive man never has to convince the attractive woman to go out for dinner. He just has to ask. For the rest of us, we often spend our time tirelessly trying to convince the attractive woman that we are worth it, and that they should go out with us. We make bold claims and offer brief glimpses of excellence, but the act of persuasion never ceases to exist. Compare this to the majority of electronic and 'Jamtronica' artists. In such a fast rising genre there are too many artists to go around - and throughout this crowd the overwhelming majority are simply presenting their case in attempt to convince us that their efforts are worthy of their own self-acclaim. While these arguments are valid for some artists, they are often just hype and hearsay. With Eliott Lipp's - 'Peace Love Weed 3D' it is clear that he is not trying to convince anyone. Lipp has joined the ranks of Sound Tribe Sector Nine, Pnuma Trio and Lotus. From this point forward all he has to do is ask, and the inevitable answer will invariably be 'yes.'
Tracks:
1.) Yeah
2.) Proceed
3.) Sentinel
4.) P.L.W.3-D
5.) So Stoked
6.) Calling Me
7.) Glowstick
8.) Sand Castle
9.) Laser Cave
10.) Beamrider
Damn, everyone is Blogging!
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