Review: Karton - For All Seasons
Let it be known: I want to be Karton when I grow up. Okay, okay - I've been listening to electronic music for well over a decade... [insert off-color age remark here. good. got that out of your system?] What I mean is that while I have immersed myself in EDM for quite some time, my musical production skills are still in their infancy. And when they have matured to a point that they are ready to leave the nest and become rebellious teenagers, I want them to create the kind of audacious, moving, crank-it-to-11 type music that Karton effuses into our musical microcosm.
I've followed the two Pauls' progress for quite some time now - literally from their first release. But they officially gained my full-on technolust with their remix of Stisch's Sawdust Caesar:
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From then on I've hunted down and devoured as much of their music as I could. And I can confidently say they made their way to the upper echelon of my superstar breakbeat-ocracy with the likes of Hybrid and Retroid.
So it was with great anticipation I sat upon hearing Karton was (were?) releasing a full-length album. And when it finally arrived, I was overjoyed to discover For All Seasons was a journey through an epic musical landscape I will revisit time and time again.
Alright, I'll stop gushing. But it is *that* good. If you're into breaks - and seriously, why would you be reading this if you weren't - you would be doing yourself a disservice by not picking up a copy.
The tracks range from downtempo (such as the gorgeous "Musical Chairs") to massive, cinematic breaks ("Walking into the Unknown" - um, Hybrid anyone?) to bangin' drum n' bass (which I was quite pleasantly surprised to find).
Bottom line - the entire CD is just fun. I dare you to try *not* to sing along (yes, even the falsetto bits in "All You Need", ahem) or get up and dance, or at least bop your head (in which case you might want to try checking your pulse).
From what I understand, the boys are already at work on a second album, and I am eager to see where they go with it and how their sound evolves. Judging from their track record, I'm probably going to like it :)
Buy and/or download For All Seaons from Amazon, like 'em on Facebook, or follow 'em on Twitter.