iL
apollo1ne3hree
Error Broadcast
March 2011
Listen for free at Error Broadcast
Despite the frigid rain and thrusting wind outside my window, things are blooming, birds are singing and spring is here. Spring equals change and I couldn’t have been granted a more effective way to shift from the upper vertebrae workout of headbanging bass beats I’ve been indulging as of late. True to form, Error Broadcast offers up another dose of thought provoking alt-jams for those brave enough to partake. This time around we’re treated to iL’s apollo1ne3hree, a fascinating and mesmerizing journey through divergent echoes and medicated soul. Space, both empty and outer, is an almost ubiquitous theme all over as samples drift, linger and gyrate in anti-gravity. Many of the tracks offer almost no skeletal structure whatsoever, allowing sounds to float about, creating bouncing ambiance in droves. It’s actually quite astounding how many elements are left to bleed out without causing a flood of soupy mess. Instead it’s more of a tie-dye affair, with trickling colours converging everywhere to create a psychadelic collage.
iL wears his heart on his sleeve here. A love of smooth 90′s-style RnB and Vaseline-slick slow jams is obvious after a listen through the album, and let me be clear, this is an album and begs to be listened to as such. Vocal tracks are pitched and distorted then let loose to be shrouded by filters and blanketing static, allowing loose ends to emerge and be joined by other wandering textures (peep the Burial-nodding “And I love Her”). The kicker is that, in application, it isn’t always snippets, and complete songs are strategically perforated to allow desired pieces entry at just the right moment. Drums can be scarce and often only show up in the form of things that aren’t drums at all. Thumps and claps are placed in the most intricate of places, and are often only included to add structure to the more gelatinous segments, like “She Does”. The real order in these songs is created by wave upon wave of cascading samples and layered synthesizers. On paper it seems like a lot, but everything is carefully orchestrated and, in matter of fifteen short minutes, it takes you on a ride that starts out at “where the fuck am I?” and ends up at “I wanna go again”. My best recommendation would be to throw it on repeat, turn it up loud, and attend to some much needed spring cleaning.
