Dinky - Dimension D

http://us.pointblankonline.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/VQCD003-Dinky-Digital.jpg

This album has been out for a couple of months, but I haven't seen it discussed here, so I thought I'd start a thread on it.

At first I felt kinda suspicious of the whole concept... Moving from instrumental dance music to a poppier sound with yourself singing feels like such a stereotypical step for a female techno producer to make, and it hasn't really worked for many male producers either. (See: Moby, Goldie, etc.) But then I listened to the album properly, and for what it is, it doesn't sound bad at all!

Dinky seems to have an actual knack for writing pop hooks, and her vocals are pretty good too – not virtuosic in any way, but she does some nice, subdued and breathy singing here. For whatever reason this album reminds of Nicolette's Let No One Live Rent-Free in Your Head, they both have a similar lithe-but-still-deep sound. As for the production, I really liked the "psychedelic minimal techno" thing Dinky was developing on her previous two albums, so the more simplistic and synth-poppy sound on this one sorta feels like a step back, but on the other hand it fits what she's attempting to do here, so I can't really complain.

So yeah, a surprisingly good album, though I do hope it isn't the template for her future career. I'd still love to hear some more instrumental and adventurous stuff from her, besides this kind of pop techno.

Pretty sure I'm the only one here who still cares about Dinky, but her new album "Valor" is nice. Unfortunately it still continues in the techno pop mold of the previous one, and her singing still isn't particularly memorable, but she seems to found a better way to incorporate the vocals into her synth arrangements:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=506QVBIib6U

So yeah, a pleasant and dreamy listen, this one. Though I can't deny I'm still hoping she'd return to proper techno one day.