The purpose built next generation interstellar Dawn Richard thread

It's not the retroness that bothers me, more that the beat isn't really integrated - "Miles" feels like the work of someone who was impressed by d&b but didn't really get it (which is odd because "Black Lipstick" totally got it). That's why I flash on pop-electronica, that sense of people thinking that fast drum loops are impressive in and of themselves. (to be clear I still like the tune a fair bit)

I thought of Madonna's "Little Star" when I first heard it, but on re-examination that is actually way more bass-driven than I remembered (albeit in a Good Looking kind of way). EBTG's "Before Today" is probably a decent reference point though (let's leave alone "Walking Wounded" which is on another level):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NYJPGQ9iCNc

more that the beat isn't really integrated

i'm relistening now and i don't hear what you mean by this?

It feels sellotaped over the top rather than a natural fit with the song.

Yeah.

The beat on "Black Lipstick" really drives the song, its propulsiveness and its hesitations are what Dawn pivots around.

On "Miles" the beat just loops prettily in the background.

Lack of bass an issue, in part. Which is understandable: "Miles" isn't a song that would work with strong bass, I think. But by the same token if that's the case then a straight sped-up breakbeat is probably gonna sound distracting.

If I was producing it I'd probably drag it closer to Janet Jackson's "Empty": if you're gonna use rippling percussion as unadulterated pretty soundstuff you may as well go all the way.

Of course it's deeply unfair to invoke "Empty" which is as close to perfection as music has ever gotten.

"black lipstick" just has a fuller arrangement to my ears - those ominous chimes are what drives it most of all, two separate drum patterns (i can hear how one of them drops in and out at pivotal points but the underlying one doesn't seem any more integrated than on "miles"?)

Could it just be a function of how the two records are mixed? In "Whiteout", the drums are all panned to one side, which has something of a distancing effect, whereas in "Black Lipstick" they have a more typical balance.

err "Whiteout" "Miles"

It's partly in the way her verse lines almost seem to set off the pattern, which itself peaks just before the second beat in each bar, so that it almost seems to recede and tumble into its own reiteration.

But saying "the underlying one doesn't seem any more integrated" is also a good way of skirting around my point, because it's not just looping by itself, there's a conscious effort to make the build in the rhythm (through a plurality of rhythms) match the build in the vocals and the build in the song. That's basically what I mean when I say "integrated".

btw has anybody gone deep into dawn's itune catalogue and pulled all her collabs, I still think the joint she did with mateo is maybe one of my favorite sappy love songs ever

i don't think i actually consciously hear any of this - i have to really pay attention to stuff that's normally just in the wash of the arrangement for me and i'm still not sure exactly what you're referring to

It's also that the breakbeat just doesn't QUITE fit on Miles, it feels like it's been fairly awkwardly cropped to fit in with everything else. The whole execution feels slapdash basically.

I'm not really feeling the EP as a whole, the songwriting feels a bit flimsy in comparison to Armor On, it's atmospheric enough but the whole thing gives off major stopgap vibes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LZPdRPReWeY

i got whiteout the same time i finally got a copy of '86 and i must admit to just listening to the latter on repeat

yeah "'86" is definitely keeping my DR enthusiasm alive far more than the EP

It's not an either/or proposition! I've listened to both a ton.

not saying it is, just saying i'm in the same boat as goole. once you've got one great release under your belt for the year anything beyond that is all gravy imo.

exactly xp

Dawn beating the Destroyer-Bon Iver crew at Best Instrumental Peter Gabriel Track with "86."

huh, I didn't really care for 86 (or Pretty Wicked Things) that much when I listened to them a while back, which might be the reason for slightly overrating Whiteout (agree with Matt about that "sellotaped" beat) once it clicked: relief that she wasn't heading into a direction I wasn't feeling. You all raving about 86 though means I'm going to give it another listen.

heard whiteout once, never bothered to listen to it again

86 pretty much instantly became one of my favorite things this year

okay 86 is really good. did anyone else notice it's followed on the album by a song called "In Your Eyes"?
actually I don't the tracklist was posted here yet:

1. Intro (In The Hearts Tonight)
2. Return of A Queen
3. Goliath
4. Riot
5. Gleaux
6. Northern Lights
7. Pretty Wicked Things
8. Frequency
9. Warfaire
10. Tug of War
11. Ode To You
12. 86
13. In Your Eyes
14. Break of Dawn
15. [300]
16. Goldenheart

I can hear certain posters wincing at "Warfaire" already

ok i've heard this fully mastered now and h.o.l.y.f.u.c.k.y.e.s.

i also think it was a very good idea to move "riot" right up front rather than the originally intended bonus track stuck on the end

if the world ends Friday, lex will be the only one of us who got to hear this album

at least 3 of those song titles are hilarious

some song titles have a kinda kate bush vibe

"Gleaux"

i've been wanting to know this for like a decade now, but is the "-eaux" suffix to replace "-o" an actual louisiana thing, maybe referencing french heritage? back in the day on a tennis msgboard i was on, there was a significant contingent of obsessive chanda rubin fans from louisiana, and they'd all say "geaux chanda" instead of "go chanda"

some song titles have a kinda kate bush vibe

i know this is a big statement but HOUNDS OF FUCKING LOVE is seriously a comparison point for the...grandeur of this thing

"Gleaux" is one thing but "Warfaire"??

Also "Break of Dawn" is kinda like, jeez DR don't put sub-editors out of a job, they've got mouths to feed.

the tracklisting's been out for months hasn't it? i feel like we've all lolled at "warfaire" before

that's the first it's been posted itt

wait till blackheart's "heartillery"

oh god, you weren't joking

WTF

heartillery!!!!! of course

btw if any of the writers itt want to hear the album they should probably just contact http://www.asa-pr.com/about.html about it, i'm sure they'd love to hear from you

"hi, I write for ILX, I would love to hear this album"

otm

think i can already hear 'goliath' in my head

he is my david, love is his slingshot, s on my chest yada yada

― r|t|c, Monday, 17 September 2012 17:08 (3 months ago) Bookmark

this album is 4real going to be some game of threauxns slash isnt it

D ® U S K I ‏@drewscotty
I had a dream I was in a real life version of Mario Kart. I was racing against Mary J. Blige, Prince & Frankie (Keyshia's mom)

D ® U S K I ‏@drewscotty
I just remember MJB power was those chicken sandwiches from Burger King. I wish I was making this up.

D ® U S K I ‏@drewscotty
@mastamoore89 they would surround her car like the green/red shells.

I do wonder why she didn't go with Lionheart

So that she can still use "Richard The LyinHeart" on BrownHeart: A Feast For Creauxs.

http://www.rap-up.com/2012/11/26/dawn-richard-pays-homage-to-danity-kane-in-86-video/#more-143659

I love how she's seemingly gone through these anime dork --> superhero comix dork --> fantasy dork periods of her career.

i just realized the '86 single artwork has the apostrophe after the number like 86', what a disaster

or maybe it's about her slaying an 86 foot tall dragon i guess

86' 87' 88' hut

xp is that really any way to talk about aubrey o'day

think i can already hear 'goliath' in my head

he is my david, love is his slingshot, s on my chest yada yada

― r|t|c, Monday, 17 September 2012 17:08 (3 months ago) Bookmark

― r|t|c, Wednesday, December 19, 2012 11:43 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

more like "i face the beast with my bare hands" type stuff

http://soultrain.com/2012/12/28/sound-check-dawn-richard/

"I have a song called “Northern Lights” which is an ode to New Orleans. If you know anything about bounce music it’s quite interesting how we incorporated that in the record. "

:)