Creamtone

Forever forward-thinking, auteur Amon Tobin always perplexes and delights with his unpredictable breakbeat/drum n’ bass thrills and spills.

Twisted bossanova, hip hop, jungle, baroque, cinematic soundscapes, jazz noir, angelic choirs, psychedelic filters, hard rock riffs, super-speed percussion — all blend harmoniously in his lush works; sometimes altogether in the SAME song!

Recently inspired by Foley artists who work in audiolabs recording sound effects for films, Monsieur Tobin has gone the way of musique concrète, venturing out with his microphone and finally collecting a cacophony of field recordings. The result is his new darkly experimental album Foley Room that’s just been released (5th March ‘07). Check out some video trailers, courtesy of the nice chaps at Ninja Tune.

With this new album out, I figure it’s time to re-kindle my forever-love for this beatguru… He who exploded my mind many years ago and enlightened me that time signatures are redundant in drum programming. Hehe.

Here are some of my favourite classic tracks from him, a remix by Dillinja, one with Bebel Gilberto singing over his original tune (hauntingly beautiful!) and a few sneaks from Foley Room…

He is a rhythmist extraordinaire.

He is a walking drum machine.

He is on a mission to pummel our tiny heads with super-complex rhythm structures while deceptively soothing us with beautiful cinemascapes.

He is a shapeshifter. A permutator. A supermodifier.

A master of melodious manipulation.

Who needs Heroes when you have Amon Tobin to save the world?