Classically trained musicians have been making their
way towards electronic music for some time now, and
Canadian Dan Snaith is a further proof that classical
music is not a dead end, neither is it incompatible
with the use of samplers, keyboards and drum machines.
With Start Breaking My Heart, Dan Snaith, AKA
Manitoba, demonstrates a similar playful cinematic approach
to electronic music as Boards
Of Canada. However, Snaith also displays a more
experimental side of his talent, and doesn’t wait long
to inject some rather furious moments in his well-behaved
compositions. After the slightly melancholic Dundas,
Ontario and People Eating Fruit,
built around smooth sounds and carefully chosen beats,
Mammals & Reptiles destroys the quietude
by breaking the fragile banks of its jazz-influenced
thread with a deluge of out of control sound collisions,
replicating the most complex jazz structures. The Manitoba
river soon regains its bed, when Snaith decides to re-use
the opening theme in Brandon. However, the
new settings give a complete different dimension to
the song. All throughout the album, the man pours hot
and cold as he pleases, as he wanders in the excruciating
wickedness of his mind, stringing courteous melodies
after abstract constructions, as if he was inserting
precious oasis of simplicity between intricate wastelands.
Sometimes reminiscent of Squarepusher
or µ-Ziq, Dan
Snaith infuses some descent amount of jazz, evoking
in parts Miles Davis. Yet, it is probably in the quietest
moments, when Snaith reveals a flair for clever, catchy
melodies, that he creates the most memorable tracks.
The structure of People Eating Fruit, Brandon
or Happy Ending is simple and yet terribly
effective, as he drops tuneful child-like songs, creating
little pieces of joyful and harmless widescreen fun.
Start Breaking My Heart is an imaginative record,
with enough personality to stand out by itself, and
Dan Snaith proves to be one hell of a clever musician,
already making a good impact on the electronic family.
4/5 |
