Announcement To Answer, An - Quantic

...including this new offering "An Announcement To Answer".

With Quantic, Holland is renowned for making use of diverse world music styles - Brazilian bossa nova, French jazz, African percussion, Western hip-hop, drum & bass... Using modern beats, heavy bass and funk tempos, he combines them effortlessly to create organic compositions, which urge you to relax, dance or just sit back and appreciate his skills.

...
...beats.

"An Announcement To Answer" features an amalgamation of traditional sounds of various countries. In 'Politik Society', African beats support Latin banjo's and trumpets. Similarly, the opening track 'Absence Heard Presence Felt' features Asian strings, as well as heavy hip-hop inspired bass. He incorporates the voices of rap artist Ohmega Watts, as well as the lead vocalist from acclaimed urban jazz band "The Rebirth", ... more

"Quantic" is one of various guises taken by DJ, producer, record collector and musician, Will Holland. Despite only being in his mid-twenties, he has released 8 albums to date, including this new offering "An Announcement To Answer".

With Quantic, Holland is renowned for making use of diverse world music styles - Brazilian bossa nova, French jazz, African percussion, Western hip-hop, drum & bass... Using modern beats, heavy bass and funk tempos, he combines them effortlessly to create organic compositions, which urge you to relax, dance or just sit back and appreciate his skills.

...THE ALBUM...
"An Announcement To Answer" is Quantic's most recent album (released in August of 2006). It took almost two years to produce, perhaps due to Will's extensive globe-trotting - the majority of which was in Africa, Mexico and Asia. Most of the album was put together whilst he visited these exotic locations, written and recorded on his laptop. While listening to the album's tracks, you clearly feel you're hopping between countries, with the music occasionally demonstrating a blend of various styles.

This is the shortest of Quantic's releases, but this isn't necessarily a bad thing. With earlier works such as "Mishaps Happening" and "The 5th Exotic", Holland perfectly established quality over quantity, and it isn't any different with this album. In this new album, he explores the musical notion of 'call and answer', where by there is a distinct conversation between musical elements i.e one instrument 'answers' another. It's an interesting idea, and Holland simply incorporates it into fast tempos, soulful vocals and heavy beats.

"An Announcement To Answer" features an amalgamation of traditional sounds of various countries. In 'Politik Society', African beats support Latin banjo's and trumpets. Similarly, the opening track 'Absence Heard Presence Felt' features Asian strings, as well as heavy hip-hop inspired bass. He incorporates the voices of rap artist Ohmega Watts, as well as the lead vocalist from acclaimed urban jazz band "The Rebirth", Noelle Scaggs. As with "The 5th Exotic", Holland is evidently describing his varied travels, delivering it with an extremely cool and addictive musical experience.

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...THE TRACKS...
'Absence Heard Presence Felt'
The opening track has a distinct Asian feel, beginning with delicate Chinese strings, which sound as if they are radiating from old, dusty speakers. It is soon interrupted with some abrubt soulful vocals, injecting that element of trademark Quantic quirkiness. A subtle, hip-hop beat sits in the background, never overpowering the emotional melodies appearing throughout. A great first track, and one of the best.

'An Announcement To Answer'
Beginning with a drum roll, and quickly joined with bouncy Latin trumpets and an edgy beat. Occasionally, South American flutes resonate in the background, and 60's inspired saxophones circle energetically. With some groovy guitar work adding some well-needed uplifting elements, the track builds up nicely to a calming finale.

'Blow In Your Horn (featuring Ohmega Watts)'
Asian flutes and drums introduce us into this hip-hop track, bringing to mind retro 70's martial arts films. The male vocals, rap lyrics describing Quantic's world music influences, at first sound far too heavy, but soon become interesting. The hip-hop elements are accompanied by Chinese strings and bamboo flutes, as well sexy saxophone notes and a thumping drum beat. A really original, impressive track.

'Bomb In A Trumpet Factory'
As the title suggests, this track heavily features trumpets. It is the shortest track on the album, but is a nice little medley of sampled trumpet sounds and a fast, bouncy tempo. The high-pitched trumpets, partnered with deeper brass instruments, perfectly demonstrate the 'call and answer' notion Holland is keen to explore with this album. A very groovy tune, but at times sounds a little too active and energetic.

'Politick Society (featuring Noelle Scaggs)'
This is a great track, really uplifting and catchy, with a distinct Latin American style. Bringing to mind cosy Mexican bars and live salsa bands, it opens with some African beats, swiftly accompanied by a chorus of friendly Latino vocals. Noelle Scaggs, vocalist for modern Jazz Band "The Rebirth", gives a wonderful performance singing some heartfelt lyrics. Throughout the whole track, a Latin banjo supports the tempo - the energy never seems to sink, retaining a great, catchy rhythm. Probably the best track on the album.

'Meet Me At The Pomegranate Tree'
Some lovely 60's-inspired plucked strings and a calming guitar riff introduce us to this track, which features a brisk drum & bass beat. Strings slowly begin to demonstrate an Asian quality, that works perfectly with the tempo. Not one of the best tracks, but a nice listen. For me, it was lacking a vocal track perhaps, or a more interesting element to distract from the repetitiveness of the sounds.

'Sabor (featuring Tempo)'
Continuing the Latin feel of the previous track, this one is again a wonderful cultural listening experience. This time, a chorus of male Latin singers feature heavily, supported by quirky trumpet work and that familiar Salsa melody. With an almost identical temp to the previous track, it is again has an energetic, catchy rhythm. Despite at times sounding quite repetitive, it's another outstanding track, expertly capturing the romantic Latin quality Holland has evidently fallen in love with.

'Ticket To Know Where (featuring Ohmega Watts)'
Opening with some sombre trumpet solos, this track is another hip-hop offering. It features a great, albeit unusual, combination of groovy guitar riffs, Latin brass and heavy rap lyrics. A strange sampled chorus of traditional trumpets appears throughout, joined towards the end with some Russian violin work. Whilst it might sound messy to people unfamiliar with Quantic's trademark concoctions of musical styles, it is actually really well put together. Holland efficiently blends elements that work perfectly with each other, producing of the outstanding tracks on the album.

'Tell It Like You Mean It'
The final track does what final tracks should do - wind us down, and leave us with a lasting impression of the album as a whole. This track does just that, beginning with some downbeat brass trumpets, and a bizarre synthesised humming. Holland cleverly weaves some of the main musical elements of the album into this final, satisfying closing tune. Latin trumpets precede a heavy techno chorus, which is soon joined by some African congo beats. In familiar fashion, they all come together towards the end of the track, gradually letting us relax and appreciate the exotic sounds we have just experienced.
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...PRODUCT DESIGN...
The album cover for "An Announcement To Answer" is a great piece of work - a man standing against the sepia backdrop of a lazy South American city. It captures the traditional Latino essence of many of the tracks, emphasising 'old meets new' by incorporating modern elements such as the electricity poles. On the back, a beautiful image of the sun amongst clouds, presented in sepia earthy colours, is the background for the track list. Overall, the design of the album is flawless in terms of being an accompaniment to the music, and also symbolises Holland's position as a musician and avid traveller.

...SUMMARY...
Without a doubt, this is one of Quantic's best albums. Similar in style to "The 5th Exotic" and featuring some of the great cultural elements that made "Mishaps Happening" so compelling, it oozes originality, making full use of the musical variety the world has to offer. It's nice to see a musician blending such a diverse range of sounds, as it creates a sense of unity between world cultures, making you feel you are travelling the globe, embracing the music countries have to offer.

In my opinion, "An Announcement To Answer" is a lot slicker and much more polished than his previous albums. It shows that he is still in the same league as other culturally diverse dance bands, such as Thievery Corporation and Groove Armada. Tracks such as 'Absence Heard Presence Felt' and 'Politik Society' are simply outstanding, staying modern whilst embracing traditional elements. Holland's ability to merge such a variety of sounds is unsurpassed in terms of his subtlety.

This is the second Quantic album I have reviewed recenty, purely for the fact that I think it is the most original music available at the moment - perfectly suited for anyone looking for interesting, modern tunes. I would highly recommend giving this album a listen - to appreciate it's rich, diverse content, as well as simply experiencing some addictive & very catchy tracks.  

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