Album
The Brandt Brauer Frick Ensemble
Mr. Machine
!K7 (label)
10 November 2011 (released)
10 November 2011
Brandt Brauer Frick are three-piece band renowned for their impassioned ambitions to recreate the feeling of electronic music using real instruments played and recorded live. It’s something that is virtually an obsession to them and it shows in this excellent eight-track album that compiles some of their best works to date. Four tracks are reimagined versions of songs from their first album, You Make Me Real, ‘remixed’ with the aid of a 10-piece orchestra – making up The Brandt Brauer Frick Ensemble.
It opens with the short title track, Mr. Machine, which is a spacious, driving track lasting just over minute long. It evokes the image of a real-life Mr.Machine, trundling along in the wilderness on a quest to who knows where. Track number two, Bop, which was one of their very first productions, sets the trio’s stall out well. There’s plenty of energy – it’s clichéd to say it, but the track 'bops' along with all the instruments clearly identifiable as it builds to a short breakdown before continuing at a foot-tapping pace. More instruments join the fray as it moves towards a dramatic close, slowing to a dead stop. The beauty of what BBF do is that you can actually distinguish the different components of the track, and the various instruments. The organic feel to the tracks is captivating and consuming at times.
Pretend brings in the vocals of BBF collaborator Emika. A muted bassline compliments the xylophone and kick drum, with Emika’s melancholy vocals blending in perfectly. Atmospherics appear to be a key ingredient in BBF’s output, pianos and violins working together with Emika’s singing to stir your emotions right up to the end. You Make Me Real is a slower track with a gaggle of different sounds combined at a slower tempo to create an immersive chill out track. Mi Corazon (My Volcano) has more of a dancefloor feel to it, the bassline persuading you to nod your head and swing your hips, while the percussion keeps your feet tapping away. Track six, On Powdered Ground, could easily be the soundtrack to an advert on the television, or perhaps a sporting event when there’s a montage of the best moments. It works up to a 4x4 beat with a female vocal popping up every now and then to instill army-esque stomping moments as the drum pounds away. Teufelsleiter slips in with plenty of drama – as is present throughout the whole album. Lining up for the close, A 606 n Rock n Roll, a frenetic track fraught with panic and sense of urgency. It plays out like a chase scene at the end of an action-movie. In fact the entire album is packed full of cinematic sounds; telling different stories and conjuring up different scenarios while stirring your emotions.
Brand Brauer Frick have dedicated a huge amount of time and energy into their compositions and this is evident throughout their stunning debut album. Personally I would’ve liked a little more tempo and maybe some simpler, dancefloor-orientated stuff but that’s a small grievance in terms of the amount of respect I have for what they’ve done. Excellent.
It opens with the short title track, Mr. Machine, which is a spacious, driving track lasting just over minute long. It evokes the image of a real-life Mr.Machine, trundling along in the wilderness on a quest to who knows where. Track number two, Bop, which was one of their very first productions, sets the trio’s stall out well. There’s plenty of energy – it’s clichéd to say it, but the track 'bops' along with all the instruments clearly identifiable as it builds to a short breakdown before continuing at a foot-tapping pace. More instruments join the fray as it moves towards a dramatic close, slowing to a dead stop. The beauty of what BBF do is that you can actually distinguish the different components of the track, and the various instruments. The organic feel to the tracks is captivating and consuming at times.
Pretend brings in the vocals of BBF collaborator Emika. A muted bassline compliments the xylophone and kick drum, with Emika’s melancholy vocals blending in perfectly. Atmospherics appear to be a key ingredient in BBF’s output, pianos and violins working together with Emika’s singing to stir your emotions right up to the end. You Make Me Real is a slower track with a gaggle of different sounds combined at a slower tempo to create an immersive chill out track. Mi Corazon (My Volcano) has more of a dancefloor feel to it, the bassline persuading you to nod your head and swing your hips, while the percussion keeps your feet tapping away. Track six, On Powdered Ground, could easily be the soundtrack to an advert on the television, or perhaps a sporting event when there’s a montage of the best moments. It works up to a 4x4 beat with a female vocal popping up every now and then to instill army-esque stomping moments as the drum pounds away. Teufelsleiter slips in with plenty of drama – as is present throughout the whole album. Lining up for the close, A 606 n Rock n Roll, a frenetic track fraught with panic and sense of urgency. It plays out like a chase scene at the end of an action-movie. In fact the entire album is packed full of cinematic sounds; telling different stories and conjuring up different scenarios while stirring your emotions.
Brand Brauer Frick have dedicated a huge amount of time and energy into their compositions and this is evident throughout their stunning debut album. Personally I would’ve liked a little more tempo and maybe some simpler, dancefloor-orientated stuff but that’s a small grievance in terms of the amount of respect I have for what they’ve done. Excellent.
