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Secret Mommy, "Hawaii 5.0"
This 17 minute EP belongs to a rare breed of musical projects: theconcept project that is not overblown or pretentious. Perhaps thebrevity helps this cause, as Hawaii 5.0is the perfect length to visit the islands without feeling trappedthere. Each of the five tracks represents a different aspect of theHawaiian experience, as filtered through Ache label owner Andy Dixon'ssense of composition.Ache
"The Drink" begins with samples of folks slurpingdown beverages undoubtedly served with little umbrellas included. Onthis track Dixon ingeniously incorporates the rhythmic sounds of icecubes clinking around in drinking glasses into the bouncy beat.Throughout the EP he captures the feeling of being far from everydayworries, as if during the course of the program one is traveling aroundthis popular vacation destination. The sound of birds weaving in andout of the rhythms on "The Beach" similates the experience of suchcreatures circling overhead while one is at a beach. The rapid cut-upsnippets heard during opener "The Culture," such as vocal fragments("mahalo"), steel drum patterns, and Hawaiian style guitar playing,attempt to provide an overview of Hawaiian culture while acting as awarped aural welcoming mat. Musically the tracks consist of many tinybits of found sound, tied together by intricately programmed 4/4 beats.The rhythms are multi-layered and sometimes fall into brief repetitivesections that allow for melodies to sneak in. These melodic sectionsare highly effective since they are used so sparingly, especially theinfectious staccato keyboard melody that is introduced halfway into"The Drink." The Hawaiian theme has rarely been used outside theexotica music genre that it's refreshing to hear it updated socleverly.
"The Drink" begins with samples of folks slurpingdown beverages undoubtedly served with little umbrellas included. Onthis track Dixon ingeniously incorporates the rhythmic sounds of icecubes clinking around in drinking glasses into the bouncy beat.Throughout the EP he captures the feeling of being far from everydayworries, as if during the course of the program one is traveling aroundthis popular vacation destination. The sound of birds weaving in andout of the rhythms on "The Beach" similates the experience of suchcreatures circling overhead while one is at a beach. The rapid cut-upsnippets heard during opener "The Culture," such as vocal fragments("mahalo"), steel drum patterns, and Hawaiian style guitar playing,attempt to provide an overview of Hawaiian culture while acting as awarped aural welcoming mat. Musically the tracks consist of many tinybits of found sound, tied together by intricately programmed 4/4 beats.The rhythms are multi-layered and sometimes fall into brief repetitivesections that allow for melodies to sneak in. These melodic sectionsare highly effective since they are used so sparingly, especially theinfectious staccato keyboard melody that is introduced halfway into"The Drink." The Hawaiian theme has rarely been used outside theexotica music genre that it's refreshing to hear it updated socleverly. samples:
