[i:Vibes] Hybrid - Morning Sci-Fi [Distinc'tive]

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Hybrid - Morning Sci-Fi [Distinc'tive]

22:01 - October 14, 2003

by Tim

4 Years after their landmark debut album “Wide Angle”, Hybrid return with a strong second album, which shows that they have not lost anything in the years between albums.

Hybrid is the Swansea, Wales duo of Chris Healings and Mike Truman, which has set the bar for the breakbeat movement. Four Years in the making and they come out of the studio with this musical gem. Lee Mullins left the group, a few years ago and it made Hybrid a duo and now they have added singer Adam Taylor (Lead Vocals and Guitar) and Alex Madge on drums. Also to help produce this album, Hybrid got John Creamer to help them. Their 1999 landmark debut “Wide Angle” showed just what these guys were capable of and hinted at more in the future. Well this time they bring New Order Bassist Peter Hook into help with some songs and bring in Kirsty Hawkshaw (Opus 3) and bring in the same orchestra from Russia, which helped them with parts of the first album. When Hybrid came to play Toronto in mid-feb of 2003, I spoke to the guys and asked them when the new album was going to come out and they said June 2003 but things changed because the boys wanted to go back into the studio and tidy up some things. It got pushed back to a September Europe release and Oct 14th North American release. Comes with a DVD with bonus material and footage from their tour in 2000, in which they supported Moby in the United States on tour and some other goodies.

The album starts off with an intro just like Wide Angle did and it sets the mood for the cd. Then they get going with an orchestra and Peter Hook on True to Form, which shows the boys have not forgotten the Russian Orchestra that they used in Wide Angle. Next comes the dark Know Your Enemy, a classic breakbeat number that has been played by many deejays over the last few months, which was originally released a long time ago on 12”. It is a great song that they released in Sept 2002 on Distinctive Breaks as the flip side to Visible Noise.
Then comes Marrakech, which is a Eastern Sounding experimental song by the Hybrid boys.
After Marrakech, you're welcomed by I’m Still Awake, which is another underrated song on the album, very nice song. Next comes the great Visible Noise, which is another progressive breaks tune and it was released in 2002 on 12” which was released on the flip side with Know Your Enemy and also on Satoshi Tomiie’s Nubreed 6. The song is dark like Know Your Enemy and Gravastar but is really addictive to listen to. Then comes the nice We Are In Control, a good tune but not my favorite on this album. We then get the other track that Peter Hook is involved in on the album called Higher Than A Skyscraper, which Hook makes this song better than the rest. Also added as backup in this song is the Hermitage Strings Orchestra, which they used on True To Form and in Wide Angle. Simply put, Amazing Stuff, total ear candy. You can hear his bass on this song and you drift away with the music, which is very nice to do. Steal You Away is up next, a nice song to bridge the gap between Higher Than A Skyscraper and Gravastar. I first saw Gravastar in the fall of 2002 with Celebrity Science as the B-Side on Distinctive Breaks. Then I saw it released on the Global Underground 023 – James Lavelle in Barcelona and I loved it then and I still love it now. Dark breaks over a nice groove and it is similar to Visible Noise as a dark breaks number. It shows that they can make dark stuff and still make it sound amazing. The next one, Out of the Dark, is a truly powerful song that I think many will find underrated in this album but truly amazing and it shows the talent of Mike and Chris and shows that the last four years of work have produced tremendous stuff. Up next is my favorite tune from the entire album, “Blackout” which is a ballad sung by Kirsty Hawkshaw and her vocals fit the tune and it is my favorite song of the entire album. It is sort of a chill out tune, perfect song for those dull autumn days.

Hybrid have set the bar again for breakbeat albums and it shows that they have not lost any of the magic that they showed with Wide Angle. It shows that the breakbeat genre has a lot of talent and will continue to expand for the next few years. Hybrid gives you tremendous value for your money with 12 great tracks plus a DVD with cool footage. I suggest you go and buy this album and if you don’t have Wider Angle, I suggest you go out and buy that album. Rating 9/10, a true long player and as for the one album wonder, Hybrid have proven that they will be around for a long time.

Tracklisting

1 This Is What It Means
2 True To Form with Peter Hook
3 Know Your Enemy
4 Marrakech
5 I'm Still Awake
6 Visible Noise
7 We Are In Control
8 Higher Than A Skyscraper with Peter Hook
9 Steal You Away
10 Gravastar
11 Out Of The Dark
12 Blackout vocals by Kirsty Hawkshaw

+ BONUS DVD INCLUDED (MUST SEE!)

Available Everywhere Now!

Watch Out for the Hybrid North American Tour in November and possibly December 2003.

Also Check out their new website www.hybridsoundsystem.com and their label’s site www.distinctiverecords.com

Our thanks go to guest reviewer, Andy aka torontotranceaddict, who's totally hooked on Hybrid's sound. If you want to say what you think of this album, just leave a comment, because Andy will surely read them all :)