2012.01.15
Artist Spotlight: Hybrid
Hybrid is a progressive breakbeat act from Wales known for their interesting use of orchestral segments in their music. Yes, that means they actually hire an orchestra to record parts of their songs. The end result is interesting if a bit on the unusual side.
Most of the tracks feel like their origins were on the electronic side of the spectrum, though the classical portions never feel bolted on. This is exactly the opposite of what Daft Punk did with the Tron: Legacy soundtrack, which was clearly a classical endeavour with a few electronic bets that felt bolted on (except for Derezzed). Like all artists that combine things traditionally from very different ends of the musical spectrum, it’s not always 100% successful, but generally I enjoy their music and they get it right more often than not.
Their sound is different enough that it’s not for everyone. It isn’t the sort of stuff you’d expect to hear on a night out at the club, and I listen to it pretty much exclusively at home as I find it a bit distracting / challenging to listen to at work.
Unfortunately, their music can be a bit tough to track down on this side of the pond (well, in Canada at least, maybe it’s easier to find in the US). I had to special-order a couple of the CDs I own, and their older stuff seems more problematic than their latest releases to find over here. iTunes does appear to have it all now, but if you want CDs or Vinyl, happy hunting…
Their most recent album, Disappear Here has been criticized as being too vocal as compared to their older stuff. Some people may prefer this, but I prefer the sound of I Choose Noise more.
It’s hard to pick a long list favorite tracks as I’m not as familiar with their entire discography as I am with many other artists. Here’s a short list of tracks (albums) I particularly enjoy of those I’m familiar with:
- Finished Symphony (Wide Angle)
- Dogstar (I Choose Noise)
- Until Tomorrow (I Choose Noise) <– Easily my favorite song of theirs overall
- Break My Soul (Disappear Here)
- Can you Hear Me (Disappear Here)
And for those deadmau5 fans out there, his remix of Finished Symphony is actually pretty decent.
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