The Stix

Artist: Jaga Jazzist
Label: Ninja Tune
Category: Music

Average customer rating:

Media: Audio CD
Number Of Discs: 1

UPC: 625978108123
EAN: 0625978108123
ASIN: B00009L542

Release Date: 2003-06-17

Related Categories:

Drum & Bass

| Dance & DJ | Styles | Music

General

| Dance & DJ | Styles | Music

General

| Jazz | Styles | Music

General

| Pop | Styles | Music

Electronica

| Dance & DJ | Styles | Music

House

| Dance & DJ | Styles | Music

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| Swing Jazz | Jazz | Styles | Music

Listmania:

Personally Definitive Electronica Albums
Eclecticism template
Favorite Norwegian Electronica
Soundtrack to an interesting life
The Essential Downbeat/Ambient/Chill Collection Part 4
My Favorites of 2003 (In no particular order)
The Albums Which Matter
La mejor musica del 2003 - una seleccion eclectica
what i listen to in 2003

Tracks:

Kitty Wu
Day
Another Day
Suomi Finland
Aerial Bright Dark Round
Reminders
Toxic Dart
I Could Have Killed Him In The Sauna
Doppelganger
The Stix

Similar Items:

A Livingroom Hush
What We Must
What We Must
Animal Chin
Day

Customer Reviews:

Jazz for the 21st century.......2004-05-07

As Jaga Jazzist continue their mission of deconstructing the world of electronic music through their melding of jazz, rock, and the ether in between, their 2nd full-length demonstrates further honing of their musical craft. The lead single, "Day",
provides uptempo dnb satiation, a venture into panoramic expansiveness made clear by its synth lines. The horn arrangements on this album are also one its standout qualities, revealing that these are musicians who are not only capable, but who have a clear understanding of the jazz sensibilities they tap into. Studio trickery also abounds, and this record is an exercise through the latest innovations, making use of a full range of production capabilities. The record stands as a cohesive grouping of songs that have a certain seamlessness to them; what they have achieved with this record is what most musicians should hope to aspire to - an album defying convention that pins down a watermark in their respective realm.

Close to the edge..........2004-04-07

The brilliance of Jaga Jazzist's first album, "A Living Room Hush", lay in its inspired marriage of new wave "electronica" and traditional jazz chord sequences. The end result - a combination of odd, often tense back-beats, familiarly languid jazz phrasing and distinctive melodies - was certainly daring but, more importantly totally controlled, allowing the best of this ingenious fusion to shine through. Arguably one of the most innovative "jazz" albums of the last 10 years and... a very difficult act to follow.

Faced with this task, their second album sees them grappling with the same problems that beset a previous generation of pioneering "jazz fusion" artists, in particular The Mahavishnu Orchestra - how to extend further into difficult and potentially disparate musical styles without losing the plot. Their solution, to concentrate more on fast "industrial techno" & "jungle" rhythms and harsher instrumentation at the expense of the laid-back, "pure jazz" melodies that underpinned "A Living Room Hush", is certainly brave and, in the end, highly effective, but the outcome is much more "frantic" and challenging.

So, for those seeking a comfortable continuation to their previous release, "The Stix" will be a disappointment; but for those interested in seeing how far the fusions they are clearly dedicated to exploring can be pushed, it's a triumph - dense, multi layered electronica combined with equally complex "avant garde" jazz in a thrilling roller coaster ride of musical exploration that runs, at times, dangerously close to the edge of how far it can be taken without degenerating into "the brilliantly unlistenable". Sun Ra and John McLaughlin would be proud.

Norwegian electronic jazzý.....No wait!!, come back!!!???.......2003-10-28

Not strictly a Jazz Musician, this Norwegian takes the back bone of Jazz music and incorporates slight traces of Electronica (and samples) to an undisruptive consistency, So whilst it flows and shift musical dynamics like traditional Jazz, it also has radical moments of expansive eclecticism and a delightfully obscurest approach. Almost as if looking to shift the goalposts of Jazz music somewhat, without completely distancing itself from it. Probably looking to appeal to both fans of more instrumental based Electronica, and hopefully capturing listeners from the Jazz genre, this aptly demonstrates how subtle use of samples and electronic equipment can be thoughtful used to carefully & Subtly enhance the music, without ever threaten to engulf it. Fans of "The Cinematic Orchestra" will probably find a great deal to enjoy here, as a it (relatively) ingenious take on the genre, obviously Jazz `Purists' will sneer at the concept, but then that's their loss.

The OK Computer of Ninja Tune titles.......2003-08-24

Ninja Tune is often criticized for its wide range of similar sounding artists. The Stix is less like the bossa nova rumber of Amon Tobin or Coldcut and more like the electric jazz stylings of Tortoise. Like Radiohead's 'OK Computer', there is a blend of electric and acoustic elements that adds up to more than just your typical electronica disc. Yes, there are beauitiful soundscapes and scat-funk beats, but there's also some good songwriting. I almost didn't pick up this disc, but now I'm glad I did.

an uncanny swaying, shifting musical creature.......2003-08-12

Strange, intoxicating whirlpool of unnerving electronica welded to the gentle illusion of acoustica! Occasionally this uncanny swaying, shifting musical creature emerges into a January morning of crisp melodic writing with a fried breakfast of rhythmic toast and lush harmonic marmalade. Mostly, however, it slips away into the brightness of a moonlit winter night full of glistening and shimmering sounds and reflections.

Inspiring stuff!!

If that didn't make sense to you then go and listen yourself.

Music CD:

Music CD

Music CD

Music CD

Matador/Mugon No Tikuseki ~ MSC

Nature of Maps ~ Matt Pond Pa

Best of Kihn ~ Greg Kihn

The Remix Collection ~ Heaven 17

Ride Again: The Singles A's & B's ~ The Outlaws

Tell Me How You Feel ~ Melissa Finder

Hula

William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet: Music From The Motion Picture (1996 Version) [Enhanced CD] ~ V

Flavor Unit ~ The 45 King

President ~ Wyclef Jean