Tom Burbank - Famous First Words

Label: Planet Mu
Released: 2006
Style: IDM, Downtempo, Experimental, Instrumental Hip Hop

"Alongside the likes of Kyler and The Kilimanjaro Dark Jazz Ensemble, Tom Burbank further extends the Planet Mu remit beyond the perceived boundaries of its splenetic catalogue - with 'Famous First Words' a glitchy river of melodic hip-hop and electronic intricacies. Very much a contemporary of Prefuse 73, Burbank's sound relies heavily on the slippage that occurs deep within the digital heart when all is not right; lending 'Famous Last Words' a moody and melancholic edge that marks him out from the usual cut-up merchants. Kicking off with 'Fragile', the usual tick-list of elements are undoubtedly present (juddery beats, bursts of electronics, disrupted emissions) - yet whilst others have seen the surface as all important, Burbank ensures a real depth exists that sees him happily ranked alongside the likes of edIT and Prefuse. From here, 'Knuckles' is brashly regimented in it's gun-fire of crumpled tronics, 'Stay One' goes straight for the widescreen jugular with watercolour soundscapes of some beauty, whilst 'Tha Chop' sees the acoustic and machine living in perfect harmony. Closing with the sun-bleached strings and Air-esque atmospherics of 'Riding Off', Burbank has delivered a blissfully simple debut that doesn't need to show off to get its point across." - Boomkat

Tracklisting:

1 Fragile (3:12)
2 Knuckles (3:57)
3 Stay One (3:57)
4 Gnats (4:11)
5 Baghdad Mood (5:06)
6 Tha Chop (5:00)
7 Cracked (3:54)
8 Blabber Mouth (3:58)
9 Slab (3:56)
10 Dot (4:28)
11 Juno Rhapsody (5:35)
12 Riding Off (5:01)

Link