Hybrid Album: “I Choose Noise”

What can be said about these guys that hasnt already been said. They always seem to amaze me when I hear something new from them. I have been an avid fan of hybrid since Wide Angle came out and have loved every minute of their material. This new album touches deeper into their grown up sound while still maintaining the unique style they have developed from the beginning. You get a taste of breaks, house and downtempo with this album plus their beautiful orchestrated ensembles flow over these songs to add just the right emotion. If you are a Hybrid fan, theres no question if you want to buy it or not. If your new to Hybrid's unique style, be prepared to fall in love with something that will emotionally move you from the first track.

In all honesty, I had never heard of Hybrid before. I do not own their previous two albums, including the acclaimed Wide(r) Angle (Although I plan to pick this one up now). I had finished picking out Armin Van Buuren's ASoT 2006 and, with a giftcard, had enough left over to purchase another CD. I am a risk-taker; I like picking out albums from random artists and risking disapointment by purchasing the CD without having heard it. I do this infrequently, but I still do it. And in this case, I find myself with no regrets.

What Hybrid produces here is a beautiful array of songs which are mixed together very, very well. I did not expect these songs to be mixed, and so this was an automatic plus for me. The music can only be described as haunting, cryptic and orchestral; there are some string variations to be found in the negative spaces of the musical mosaics spun here, and Perry Farrell lends vocals to some of the album. His voice seems to fit in perfectly with the structure and mood of the songs - airy, dreamy and hypnotic. The fading in and out of tribal drums serves to further enhance this mood on "Last Man Standing," right before the entrance of a killer beat with undulating basstones that make an entrance soon afterwards.

This is one of those dark albums which seems to have a specific direction it wants to take the listener, and that feeling is illustrated throughout the majority (if not entirety) of the disc.

I like to listen to this mix in the car on a rainy day, and especially after a long day of classes, work or life in general. Very much like conventional trance will, this album transports the listener places, and I'm not sure I would call this trance (at least not in the electronica/House-music sense). Hybrid manages to deviate from the beautiful soundscapes of dreamy synth and sinister bass when they throw in an unexpected, slightly muted and unobtrusive breakbeat in the middle of a song, right before fading into staccato industrious synths which, true to the album's collective nature, have a brooding and sinister undertone within them.

Lastly, the production on this album is so well done that it borderes on grandiose; this is not in the slightest a negative attribute to the group or their disc here; it provides the necessary polish to an album that seems audibly immaculate from the introductory track.

Sometimes going out on a limb ain't such a bad thing! I chose noise, and I chose well.

~Lex

I have been an early-early adopter of the electronic music scene; & unfortunately, these days, I find myself running out of options for non-commercial, talented & non-recycled electronic acts... In a genre, which is increasingly being referred to as Sold-Out, Hybrid can still make you go "WOW" ... I cannot comment too much on this album as I have just bought a couple of tracks from I-tunes (before I ordered this album from Amazon, cannot wait to get it!!!)

With Hybrid's continued prowess with guest vocalists, lush cinematic arrangements & stellar production, I can only expect this album to be a breaks classic (right up there with Wide Angle);

Check out the 30 sec clip on Amazon of the Title track "I choose noise" ... Its a soundscape in itself & the strings are blockbuster !!!

Just stumbled upon Hybrid whilst searching for new music to work out to. I was really impressed with most of their music. They should be scoring for movies and video games as well. They have a very cinematic feel and should take advantage of the road that The Chemical Brothers and Daft Punk have begun. They have the potential to grab American audiences through their movies and games.

Hybrid's third release I CHOOSE NOISE continues the production duo's highly individual vein of breakbeat with a cinematic scope. It follows in the mood of their second album

, with a soundscape more dark and brutal than their debut,

. Unlike earlier efforts, however, this is less a collection of individual songs and more a complete set. Each track, if you listen to the album as a whole, contribute to an incredible buildup. However, some of these, such as "Hooligan Spirit", "Keep It in the Family", and "Last Man Standing", are pretty anonymous on their own. Major exceptions are the four vocal tracks, two of which may even be radio-friendly. Thankfully, Adam Taylor, whose vocals made MORNING SCI-FI less than entirely entertaining, is absent here. Perry Farell's turn on "Dogstar" works well, as does John Graham's on "Falling Down" and "Until Tomorrow". "Choke", however, is a disappointment, unpleasantly reminiscent of mid-1990s Radiohead and incongruent with the rest of the album.

With each album, Hybrid have trimmed down the string arrangements that initially won them such acclaim. On one hand, one regrets the consequential limitations of the harmonies; musically much of the album approaches Swayzak in the simplicity of its construction, though with faster tempos and spicy breaks. Hence my 3-star rating. On the other hand, the spare use of strings here only increases their effectiveness when they do appear. The album's closer "Just for Today" is an extravagant blend of electronic and orchestral sound that is just as memorable as "Finished Symphony" from WIDER ANGLE.

If you are new to Hybrid's music, I'd recommend starting with WIDER ANGLE, one of the most elegant electronica albums ever made. If you like what you hear, pick up MORNING SCI-FI and I CHOOSE NOISE. Hybrid is a band with their own distinct sound, but they constantly find some new vein to tap in each release and, while no longer revolutionary, they tend to entertain.