Music
is a far more complicated medium than any other in the art world, and among all
of the most popular music genres in the 21st century, there’s no debating
whether or not electronica is the most sophisticated and multifaceted. Newbies
to the electronica experience that are interested in getting a sampler of
everything that the style can do should make a point to check out Where We
Begin, the collaborative album from Fenix & SM1LO released this past June
on the Say Wow Records imprint which features none other than Llexa on lead
vocals.
Where
We Begin is one song sliced fourteen different ways, six of them being one
hundred percent instrumentals. The instrumental “Dub” mixes are generally
unnecessary for the average fan’s needs, but for music enthusiasts like me,
they’re the bread and butter of a weekend spent taking over every club in the
downtown core. There’s no vocal to get in the way of our appreciating the
differences between house, club and pop versions of “Where We Begin,” and in
some situations, the music is more communicative without the addition of
lyrics. “Fenix House Radio Dub Mix” and “Club Radio Dub Mix” are two of the
best in this category, but they’re far from the only winners here.
Vocalist
Llexa gives some clarity to the emotional subtext in the manipulated melodies
we hear in “SM1LO Remix” and “Kali Remix,’ and in the album-opener comes close
to going over the top but stops just short of drifting too far from the main
hook’s harmony. Some of the alignments are off (namely in the house mixes that
she’s featured in), but regardless of how her amazing skills are utilized,
they’re an ever-present element that keeps things on a mainstream path instead
of a jagged, avant-garde one.
I
need just a little more energy out of the “Kali Remix” for it to be the best
edit here, but the structure of this mix is nevertheless one of the strongest
that Where We Begin features. Does it borrow its piano part from the mid-2000s?
Yes, but that rigid riffing that follows it beside Llexa’s singing isn’t
similar to anything on the FM dial this July; in all actuality, it has the most
futuristic vibe of any element here. Electronica geeks will squabble about the
minute differences between these mixes, but all in all, there’s nothing in
Where We Begin that misses the mark, especially if you’re a newcomer to this
sound.
Fenix
& SM1LO’s collaborative project and the fourteen songs it has produced make
for a tough record for any journalist to review. It poses as many questions
about the players that go unsolved as it does provide an answer to listeners in
need of some swinging grooves this summer, but I’ve got a feeling that this
could be only one installment in a series of releases from this duo. They haven’t
said as much, but if they’re keeping up with the critical reception that Where
We Begin has had, they would be crazy to miss out on the lucrative opportunity
to make more music like this. This is a club-goer’s paradise, and a great way
to get acquainted with contemporary EDM.
Anthony Carlisle
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