At Home With the Groovebox

At Home With the Groovebox Artist: Various Artists
Label: Grand Royal Records
Category: Music


Average customer rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Media: Audio CD
Number Of Discs: 1


UPC: 758148006827
EAN: 0758148006827
ASIN: B00000K2D3


Release Date: 2000-04-04

At Home With the Groovebox


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Tracks:

  1. The Groovy Leprechauns - Jean Jacques Perrey
  2. 303 + 606 = Acid - Buffalo Daughter
  3. J.I.H.A.D. - John McEntire
  4. Planet Vega - Air
  5. Robyn Turns 26 - Pavement
  6. Insects Are All Around Us - Money Mark
  7. Boyz - Beck
  8. Winged Elephants - Sean Lennon
  9. Popcorn - Gershon Kingsley
  10. Campfire - Sonic Youth
  11. Oh My - Bis
  12. We Love Our Lawyers - Cibo Matto
  13. Today I Started Celebrating Again - Bonnie 'Prince' Billy
  14. Glass Slipper - Dick Hyman

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Customer Reviews:

4 out of 5 stars A rare gem!.......2002-06-19

Of course, I don't expect everyone to love this album. Those who will definitely be smiling are those who own or have used a "groovebox" and to hear their favorite Shibuya-kei artists make their own songs on it.

Anyway, the album can be found pretty inexpensively these days since the company is no longer around but it's one of those albums that you just want to buy because where else are you going to find awesome Shibuya-kei and electronic artists using a Roland Groovebox to make their own music. For several years, I have been accustomed to listening to people's music made on the groovebox via mp3.com but by buying this album you can hear Cibo Matto, Buffalo Daughter and much more mess around with the machine.

This by no means is an awesome album compared to other electronic music albums. To me this is a project album of artists being given a groovebox and to make a song and then an album is released. But I'm a groovebox owner and to hear these artists make their own music is just too awesome!

Of course, it's not for everyone but it's one of those rare gems that you just don't find anymore.

2 out of 5 stars 2 1/2 stars. dissapointing........2002-05-13

The idea: Send the Groovebox, a synthesizer combining the sounds of the 808 and 909 drum machines with the 303 bass machine and other sounds, to a list of the most credible names in the indie rock biz, have them make songs with only the Groovebox, and compile the results.

The result (theoretical): These talented artists will utilize the Groovebox in many different ways and each will be intriguing and new and will make for a fun album that's also a study on the way artists work with modern technology.

The result (reality): Who you expected to be the most talented with the Groovebox produce the worst songs, and the people who you thought would have difficulty with it actually made the best songs, while still the album remains disappointing on the whole.

Old school electronic musician Jean Jacques Perrey kicks off the disc with a funky song that almost sounds entirely assembled from sound effects. His song may be the best on the whole album and it bares repeated listening. Many of the other songs, unfortunately sound as if the band decided to just finish a song quickly unconcerned about the quality so they could get it done and out of the way. They're one-offs. John McEntire tries to approximate some kind of Stereolab space pop, but fails. Then Air takes it's turn and the song they turn out is of course wonderful. I think the best way to describe it is as the feeling you have when you're know you're going to sneeze, and you feel it coming, you're eyes are squinting and it's just not coming out and you're hanging there. Air builds up a great sense of nasal tension. You're just sitting there waiting for the payoff. Pavement ends up with a strangely successful song called "Robyn Turns 26" with typically enigmatic Pavement lyrics. Coming from the other side of the indie spectrum, Money Mark and Beck surprisingly make two downright boring songs. Even Cibo Matto's contribution isn't as spectacular as you might expect. Then there's Sean Lennon... but at least Gershon Kingsley's reincarnation of "Popcorn" is nice.

4 out of 5 stars Experimental and fun!.......2000-07-06

This CD is exactly what I need: a light, fun disc to counterpoint all my metal and industrial discs. I like a lot of the groups on here (Beck, Air, Sonic Youth) and their tracks are an interesting variation. Mister Will Oldham performs as Bonnie Prince Billy, and his contribution is a good twist on his work as Palace. Bis, Buffalo Daughter, and Cibo Matto also contributed good works, but the highlights are definitely Perrey's, Kingsley's, and Pavement's tracks. Pavement twists their noise-rock into a minimal funk tune, while Kingsley and Perrey both expand upon their groundbreaking early experiments as a duo. All in all, if you have an open mind and you dig the experimental, give this a spin. It'll be well worth it.

5 out of 5 stars Five stars to the the ghosts in this machine!.......2000-06-06

This collection might serve as exhibit A in a counter-argument to the persistent fear that electronic instruments will make everyone sound alike and take the individuality out of music. Over the course of these fourteen tracks, it becomes clear that it is not the tool used that makes or breaks a piece of music. Rather it continues to boil down to which musicians have something to say and which do not? Who has a active point of view as opposed to a passive point of review?

The premise of this album is to hand an MC-505 "groovebox" to a cross-current of contemporary musical artists...and let their creative juices flow! The MC-505 is basically a minimalist workstation of sorts, one with which artists can build tracks employing a variety of vintage analog synth sounds (drums, bass, synths, percussion, etc.). Many of the sounds will be familiar to anyone who has heard an advertisement over the last several decades, let alone music from virtually all corners of the contemporary pop music scene.

The presence of pop-culture visionaries Cibo Matto and their helping hand/group member Sean Lennon attracted me to the package, and neither disappoints on this mostly-instrumental collection. In fact, Lennon's track really displays a side of him far removed from the shadow of his parents, Cibo Matto, and his previous solo work. Besides them, artists as varied as Buffalo Daughter, Beck, Air, Money Mark, and Sonic Youth create a diverse array of textures and rhythms. Even jazz veteran Dick Hyman effectively works his personality into the machine. In all cases the artists bring their vivid musical imaginations to the table, and take this concept beyond novelty and into something intrinsically worthy of repeat listens. Some tracks lock into dance-oriented grooves, while others exploit the more ethereal colorations within the box (and with great success, many of the featured artists do BOTH). The end result is that the listener is not likely to notice the concept, but rather the end results.

5 out of 5 stars

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  2. Family Business ~ Pony Club
  3. Best of the 70's: Hits of 1971 ~ Various Artists
  4. Prisoner of Hope ~ Chris Falson
  5. Love 15 ~ Majesty Crush
  6. Blues with a Feeling ~ Steve Hackett
  7. 1975 ~ Duster
  8. Essence
  9. Polara ~ Polara
  10. What Do Pretty Girls Do? ~ Kristy MacColl

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