Some Party Alone: The Soft Pink Truth
Posted by: steve | From: October 26, 2004
There apparantly is some sort of DJ handbook or coda that is supposed to be followed when one is trying to do his or her thing. You know the sort of thing that make someone a real DJs DJ, like proficient technical skill. super flow, these types of things. One of the 10 commandments i believe is to never play 2 songs by the same band/act/group in the same set. I am not a DJs DJ. I figured this out when I literally couldn't stop myself from playing The Soft Pink Truth at least twice a night. The Soft Pink Truth is undeniable.
The Soft Pink Truth is Drew Daniel, who is more famously one half of Matmos, whose deeply conceptual "found sound" style electronic music has garnered mucho critical praise and they also made a lot of music and stuff for that Bjork lady. So, the legend goes like this, Matthew Herbert (a crazy electronic man who records under names like Wishmountain, Doctor Rockit, Herbert, and Radio Boy) dared (DARED!) Drew Daniel to try to make some "house music" in the using the same intricite manner in which Matmos is created. Drew Daniel was indeed very much up to the task. He put out two 12" under The Soft Pink Truth name in late 2001 and 2002 on Herbert's Soundslike records. The two 12" plus 3 more tracks then became The Soft Pink Truth's full length debut called "Do You Party?" which came out in early 2003.
"Do You Party?" played a really sick joke on me because it really took so many things that I didn't like about the specific kind of music that it is and did them in such an amazing way. I love the concept of music designed specifically to make people dance, but so much of that type of music, especially of the electronic variety, is very bland with nothing distinctive and incredibly cold. "Do You Party?" is just packed with personality and fun and all the things that house music isn't most of the time. I mean, I wouldn't necessarily call it house music, more like neo-electro. What? Why would I call it neo? Also, I have historically hated vocal samples but The Soft Pink Truth just completely flips the switch and shows all the others how vocal samples should be used. Really the heart of this sort of music has to be the beats, though, and The Soft Pink beats are thick. Somehow the beats skitter and slam at the same time. They have the exciting feeling of chopped up beats but they propel you to move as much as a 4/4 disco track. "Gush Gush Gush," I know you are saying, but I'm serious, "Do You Party?" is such a special dance record.
How does one follow up such an amazing debut album? Well, if you are Drew Daniel, you totally do something unexpected and you make an album of all anarchist punk anthem covers. That's right, The Soft Pink Truth's news album, "Do You Want New Wave Or Do You Want The Soft Pink Truth?", is full of Crass, Rudimentary Peni, Swell Maps, and Minor Threat covers. It doesn't disappoint either, it's strong and still full of the right amount of humor but just that perfect amount of vitriolic politics (to be released appropriately next Tues, aka Nov. 2, aka Election Day) that we need right now. The album is a little more angular and maybe a little less funk vibes, but it is totally another dancefloor burner.
So, I'm breaking the DJ 10 Commandments again, because I have the new The Soft Pink Truth again. How could I not break the rules, though? Drew Daniel makes my favorite dance music that is being made in his spare time! When someone makes music this music as a side project it automatically makes them The Greatest Band of All Time.
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