Gelbart
"Four Track Improvisations" CD
Defekt
Records
Genres: videogame, lo-fi electronic, experimental
Dec 6 - 12 2004 |
A few years ago, a band named Oh No The Modulator emerged from the Toronto underground. They got
airplay on Brave New Waves, the premier Canadian radio show for
"alternative" and "challenging" music (playing
everything from Apples In Stereo to Farmers Manual), and
turned up at a number of local venues. All of their music was composed on an
ancient Apple computer, and each song was short, simple, and
unapologetically bleepy. I still have their Semi-Formalizer album in
my collection, and consider it one of my most prized musical
artifacts. Adi Gelbart (or just Gelbart) follows in the same
vein as Oh No, using keyboards, drum machines, and guitars instead of outdated
computers - except he does it better. These songs are short, catchy
slices of videogame-calibre electro, combining pop and jazz
themes. They are recorded directly to four-track, lending them a
personal, full sound. Despite their often simplistic
nature, the majority of these thirty-two songs are surprisingly
listenable - the various elements of each track combine to create a
very complete atmosphere. The songs often have a lounge-based
nature (Tracks 4 and 24), while others are more pop-oriented (Tracks 1
and 11). Track 15 could be the album's best moment - it's a
doodly pop song with a really nice melody, accentuated by a solid
guitar part. Renditions of Duke Ellington's
"Sophisticated Lady," Thelonius Monk's "Ask Me
Now," and Charlie Parker's "Little Suede Shoes"
round out the 32-track album; each cover song is done extraordinarily well,
in a neat futuristic lounge style.
Four Track Improvisations is a surprisingly satisfying
album. Despite its unusual style and erratic nature (thirty-two
songs in forty-two minutes!), it is extremely listenable and
consistently entertaining. If you keep an open mind, this could
end up as one of your most treasured possessions. Track it
down.
87%
Fun Fact: Gelbart's Four Track
Improvisations is the first album Indieville has ever received
from Israel.
Matt Shimmer [Vitals:
32 tracks, distributed by the
label, released 2003] |
