Music CD - BT: This Binary Universe

	Music CD: This Binary Universe Artist: BT List Price: $17.98 Our Price: $10.99 Your Save: $ 6.99 ( 39% ) Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Manufacturer: Digital Sound
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Tracks: 1. All That Makes Us Human Continues 2. Dynamic Symmetry 3. The Internal Locus 4. 1.618 5. See You On The Other Side 6. The Antikythera Mechanism 7. Good Morning Kaia
Binding: Audio CD EAN: 0692860114029 Label: Digital Sound Manufacturer: Digital Sound Number Of Discs: 2 Publisher: Digital Sound Release Date: 2006-08-29 Studio: Digital Sound
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Spotlight customer reviews: Customer Rating: Summary: A review for the misinformed Comment: First of all this is a decent release. It's not great, not groundbreaking (we'll get to this in a moment) but it is good. You would think from reading the reviews that BT will usher in an era of world peace and unity with this release. Unfortunately this is not the case. In fact, this cd is subpar when compared to the last three proper BT releases (soundtracks DON'T COUNT). This entire cd has been done before several times and much better. Let's talk about ambient music. There's lots of types, noise, IDM, etheral, etc, etc... you'll find the latter two here and on a million other cds only you'll find them *MUCH* better elsewhere. Haujobb's Ninety Nine is probably the best example of IDM and far superior to anything BT has to offer in his repertoire. This is not to take away from BT's work but rather to add a dose of reality to these skewed reviews. Forma Tadre's Automate, Dead Voices On Air, Black Lung, also come to mind. BT's work is almost as good as any of these artists but certainly does not deserve the accolades here. Come on BT, we've learned to expect better than this. The simple fact is that by reading these reviews you would think that NONE of the reviewers have ever heard a single other piece of electronic music. The loops on this cd are at best average and at worst sound like someone hitting the demo button on their synths. Come on, be a little more discriminating. Oh and anyone who thinks BT is so innovative has never heard a Skinny Puppy cd (vocal edit world record anyone? Gimme a break, I have tons of cds with more vocal edits than any of BT's work). Trashing aside, this is a competent cd for anyone who wants to be INTRODUCED to the world of ambient music but this is still just scratching the surface of a genre that is MUCH MUCH MORE than the other reviewers here would have you believe. I happily await a new BT release that will hopefully be a return to form. Oh, BT, two words, alarm system. Customer Rating: Summary: Maybe one of the best Ambient Albums out there Comment: This reminds me of Dark Side of the Moon by Pink Floyd. I could literally watch the wizard of oz to this cd. What a great album. BT has totally left what he had done before and just took a new approach to this album and if you like Ambient style music you will love this one. I have had it for a while but I listened to it at least 20 times. I still think of this one as a gem and just wanted to get back and review all of the albums that are sticking out in my head as deserving. This one rocks. Customer Rating: Summary: BT This Binary Skipping Disc Comment: BT made the stutter edit popular on some of his earliest production work. It was a fresh, cool technique when it was first introduced. On this disc, the technique is so over used that, combined with the digital noise samples, it sounds like the disc is defective when it clearly is not. The technique might have worked if it was used as a spice and not as the main dish. Who wants to dine on salt and pepper? This disc is overloaded with reverse samples and repetitious phrases. Some of the compositions, like "1.618", would have been pleasurable if it were not for the rhythm track being constructed from a myriad of digital noise and abrupt edits. A DJ does not a composer make. If you're looking for a DTS 5.1 surround mix to enjoy, try an Alan Parson's disc instead. Better music, cleaner productions. Customer Rating: Summary: Mix-O- Lot- Master: A Unique Sonic Experiance, A Masterpiece Comment: First of all I want to let whoever reads this that I am not a religious fan of BT. Yes He is very talented and yes, the last few albums produced are quite good. However, When I got this disk and popped it in I was not really sure what to expect. I had read the reviews and had some preconceived high expectations already. If you think your going to hear more of what your used to on the last few albums then you may not up for this disk. I have to admit that the first listen I was more in shock and began discovering a new side of BT after being conditioned with Emotional Technology. Like most of his disks and songs there is a certain element that grabs you and holds your ears hostage. My best description of this compilation is this: Take the BT Break-beat, add some Aphex twin and Amon Tobin, add some more BT style harmony, layer it with more melodies of ambiance and atmosphere, then give it the mood of bliss. Journey through this world where all the music is pretty spontaneous and you might hear random sounds that remind you of nursery tunes and elements other sounds that maybe familiar and enjoyable =) The simple fact is that there is no way to digest even the essence of this album without listening to the whole thing all the way a few times. The rhythms and mixing style play on itself tying the whole alum together is a way that is unique. Generally, this is not the kind of disk you would pull out to wake up in the morning. Instead, this is the disk more for a flavor of ambient and trance with a number of catchy faster sections with lots of atmosphere. There is an element of sonic addiction after a few go a-rounds :) To really get the full effect of the binary Universe, it really needs to be heard though some high quality full range equipment. This offering is not just the audio CD. There is also a pretty cool DVD with pretty cool video footage. The DVD also has the full range track! My CD case came with a sticker that said that Binary Universe is a Masterpiece and I have to agree! If you have an appreciation for music more than the usual parson or a just a die hard fan of BT you should not be disappointed. Customer Rating: Summary: Ambience at its finest Comment: There are many reviwes that can explain this album/video combo far better than I can. However, I will say if you love ambient music this is a must have for the collection. I find it great for that drive into work while stuck in traffic or a long road trip. The bonus is that every song has a video on the bonus DVD. Excellent CG work and it adds to the overall experience. I would recommend listening to the album first then view the DVD at a later time. It will be like reliving the experience all over again but from the artist mind. HIGHLY RECOMMEND! More Reviews
Editorial Reviews: BT's This Binary Universe is really a follow-up to his 2004 soundtrack to Monster, a brilliant work of cinematic moods and ambient Americana. It was unjustly ignored by both the Oscars and the Grammys, where it should have at least been nominated for Best Surround Sound Recording. None of that has stopped Brian Transeau from going further down this path of expansive ambient electronica that takes him out of the techno-pop and trance direction he had been pursuing. This Binary Universe taps into BT's classical side, with expansive arrangements and intricate, albeit minimalist, thematic development. From the opening of "All That Makes Us Human Continues," BT reveals himself as a master of Eno-esque melancholy, as simple melodies evolve through an electro-orchestral instrumental palette. Lounge jazz with solos in the key of abstract, plaintive arpeggiated guitars, electro marches, minimalist hymns, and pastoral dreamscapes drive an album that seeks out joy and redemption, but not without traveling through the dark. The last track, "Good Morning Kaia," is a paean to his newborn daughter, and the most purely anthemic track on the disc. I suspect the real raison d'être of This Binary Universe is the accompanying 5:1 surround DVD. BT creates an immersive space that's less sonic pinball and more audio sculpture, often revealing different aspects of his music than in the stereo mix. Each song on the DVD has a unique video that includes antique robots, surreal landscape drawings, live action fantasies, and abstract designs. It's the best way to experience this music, but whether you watch the DVD or tune into the stereo CD, This Binary Universe may be the first ambient symphony of the 21st century. --John Diliberto