Album Review: BT - A Song Across Wires (2013)

BT, or Brian Transeau, has been in the electronic music game a long time, specifically being one of the pioneers of the trance genre. The following is a review of his ninth album. I wrote it in real time as I listened to the album in its entirety for the first time, making edits and revisions after the fact to make it readable as a blog post.

BT - A Song Across Wires


Label: Armada Music
Genre(s): Multiple/various
Release Year: 2013

I will start with the media packaging. The layout is very simple. Nothing fancy on the front cover, other than whatever type of haircut BT is sporting and the fact that he’s split himself into three. The title A Song Across Wires has the A letters missing the cross-lines and the E is backwards, so it's possible to assume that some futuristic material is headed the listener's way. At least that's the kind of typeface I see reserved for all things having to do with sci-fi. In this instance, it's more likely to do with BT trying to convey and connect his thoughts and emotions via technological outputs, which would fit the theme of some of his past album titles, such as Movement In Still Life and Emotional Technology. The inside foldout has some additional pictures of BT, with the album credits in the middle that are laid out in a way that mimic the wires supporting an old-school telephone system. The back of the CD has BT in some sort of The Matrix-like setting, but instead of a bunch of elusive figures, it's just a dude, BT, chillin' in a black t-shirt.

1) “Skylarking” leads things off. This track I had heard before, and it's one of those songs you have to hear a number of times to appreciate.

BT - "Skylarking"

“Skylarking” takes the listener through states of calm all the way through rolling, thunderous synths. Even though it’s clear there’s a lot going on, and on some level it gives off a sense of warmth, life, birth and rebirth, there are other times where it feels cold to the touch, which is an oft-mentioned complaint that a lot of people have about electronic music. It wouldn't be until several x amount of time later (I don't remember the time frame) that I watched the music video, and it did help to bring a different dynamic to the song. The video itself is brilliantly shot with multiple scenes of nature set to time-lapse photography, something that is often a staple of many a trance video. Here, again, is another bridge between real nature and computer-based music.

2) “Letting Go”: Alright, hearing this for the first time. I recognize the vocals as JES (Jes Brieden). Wow, I think this is dubstep. Didn’t expect that from BT. It starts off with a full chorus but it also has the line “letting go” spliced and repeated throughout -- consistently -- but not in too cheap a way as BT’s complexity is still evident. For me, it just depends on how this technique is implemented before I can decide if it ruins the song. This effect is similar to how the line “electric gloooow” is used in Tritonal's aptly titled, you guessed it, "Electric Glow," a song that appears as a remix on the Tritonia: Chapter 002 album, I find this particular type of repetition annoying. Now we’re on to the midway point, but it's not really adding too much to the song.

3) “Tomahawk”: BT brings things back to trance, albeit with an ever-so-slight dub influence. My initial reaction is that it sounds kind of empty. According to Wikipedia, this song would reach #1 on Beatport's trance charts at some point during its life cycle. Just because it doesn't work from the comfort of my computer, that doesn't mean it wouldn't work in the clubs.

4) “City Life”: From the nature setting that “Skylarking” gave us, we now transition into “City Life.” This is a vocal track, and the language used is clearly foreign. Perhaps Japanese?* BT keeps things light at the beginning as the track isn't too busy. Then, we hit the two-minute mark and things pick up and some bass is added. Not sure what this genre this is. I’m guessing progressive house. I know I have said in the past that I don't always like getting bogged down in genres, but sometimes I can’t help myself. *Goes to look up the genre in real time*… Ah, I see now that it’s electro house. By the end of the song it slows down again and some sort of flute finishes out the track. Overall, the song isn't resonating with me. *Note: The vocalist is K-Pop singer Bada (Choi Sung-hee).

5) “Stem The Tides”: Expecting a water-like vibe here. It is a vocal track BT goes back to using an English . Hearing some chimes mixed in. The lyrics are nothing to write home about, with BT highlighting the vocals “Oh oooh oh oooh” as the main draw. The track is midtempo. Neither the beat nor the vocals really grab me.

6) “Tonight”: JES back on vocals. These are the lyrics…the only lyrics:

Tonight, our night, our night.
Tonight, I’ll remember always.”

I don’t know. Meh.

7) “Live Divine”: Sounds like an updated Depeche Mode song, although it has a pop structure with the way the vocals are laid out. There is some sort of echo effect on the vocals that makes them seem more distant than they need to be. In looking at the credits, I see that Christian Burns is on vocals. He’d have a good cross-over rock voice, which you can hear in this collaboration with Maison & Dragen.

8) “Surrounded”: A slower track. Male vocals that sound high-pitched in their application. The structure of the beat maintains a flat pace, although it carries a lot of BT’s signature variations.

9) “Vervoeren”: Hmm. This sounds ominous. It’s an instrumental. I would need to spend more time with this one. No opinion.

10) “Calling Your Name”: A vocal track. A lead-up then a break with the line “Calling Your Name” repeated, similar to the other tracks. Picks up again midway. Is that a dubstep drop? *Heads to Web site to make sure. Clicks on title.* Nope, it’s a trance tune with a BPM of 132. What kind of sorcery is this? Decent drive to the song. Might need to give it a few more listens to fully appreciate it. Note: This album has a ton of collaborations. All tracks were mixed by BT, except this one. It was mixed by Tritonal.

11) “Must Be The Love”: In addition to "Skylarking," this is the second track that I knew about previous to spinning the album. And with two tracks to go, I already know this is going to be the best track on the disc. This is, however, my first time hearing the full version instead of the radio edit. Nadia Ali on vocals, and they’re top notch as always. This is trance. The first 1:45 or so starts off slower than the radio edit, which I have to say is quite an adjustment. As I’m hearing it now, that portion of the song sound out of place...but not after that. Now we’re talkin’. The first drop (trance isn't really known for drops, it's not really a drop in that sense) is different than the second, with the second one being more complex, thus making the instrumental part of the song unique in its design when put up against a lot of its counterparts. I can see why the decision was made to go with the radio edit. While purists might deride something like this as too poppy for an output by BT, I don't think it does enough to cross over into straight-pop territory. I know pop when I hear it.

Arty, Nadia Ali & BT - "Must Be The Love"

12) “Lifeline”: Our final track. Not feeling it.

SUMMATION

Overall, I think it's a fairly balanced album. I wouldn't say that the style of the album is necessarily for me, but it could be one of those deals where you've got to give the entire album several spins, or hear it in a type of setting for which it was designed. Me being a bit of a good 'ol boy mixed with a highly creative side, I can't assess it insofar as its club potential. As it were, musical taste is in the ear of the beholder.

SUPPLEMENTAL

BT is known for his complexity and his ability to interlace an extreme amount of edits into his music. Indeed, a song from one of BT's earlier releases has a record to its name...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BT_(musician)

Quote:

"Somnambulist (Simply Being Loved)" holds the Guinness World Record for the largest number of vocal edits in a single track, with 6,178.

Hear the song: BT - Somnambulist (Simply Being Loved)

BT is now quoted as having set a new record, unofficially at present, with a track that has 10,000 edits. Read more: BT article. Is it good music at that point, or intellectual youknowwhat?

- Also listed on his Wikipedia are some interesting facts about his musical background. This includes some of his background in jazz and classical music.

- BT composed the music for the 2001 film The Fast and the Furious. I saw that film in the theaters upon its release. I wouldn't get heavily into this type of electronic music until about 2011. Small world.

- BT is working on a project to translate his electronic compositions to a real symphony--with instruments!

Quote:

The album is produced by Grammy nominated BT and award-winning composer Tommy Tallarico. “This collaboration is an acoustical merging of tradition and technology, not simply symphonic versions of popular EDM songs,” NTallarico said.

Read more: No Money, No Problems.

Some interviews with BT: