JULIEN DYNE-DECEMBER.

dereksmusicblog ♦ December 9, 2013 ♦ Leave a comment

JULIEN DYNE-DECEMBER.

One of the most anticipated albums of recent months, has been Julien Dyne’s third album December. It’s just been released on BBE Music, and sees Julien pick up where he left off on his sophomore album Glimpse. On Glimpse we saw a tantalising glimpse of the direction Julien Dyne’s music was heading. This was in the direction of futuristic, innovative, genre-melting 21st Century soundscapes. Julien pushed boundaries, drawing inspiration from his debut album Pins and Digits and the followup, Glimpse. However, Julien was determined to take his music to the next level on December.

Two years in the making, December features fourteen futuristic soundscapes. They feature glistening melodies, pulsating rhythms and a myriad of percussive delights. It’s no exaggeration to say that Julien has pushed musical boundaries to their limits. In doing so, Julien has drawn inspiration from an eclectic selection of musical influences and genres. All these influences and genres have gone into the making of December Julien Dyne’s third album. Before I tell you about December, I’ll tell you about Julien Dyne’s career.

Julien Dyne was born in Montreal, Canada and was brought up in New Zealand. He graduated from the University of Auckland, with a Bachelor of Fine Arts. A talented visual artist, Julien Dyne’s work has been exhibited throughout New Zealand. Then in 2004, Julien headed to Rome, where he attended the Red Bull Academy of Music. At the Academy, Julien was fortunate to be taught by influential session drummer Bernard Purdie. He also learnt from the various guest lecturers who visited the Academy. Each of the inspired and influenced Julien. On graduating, Julien’s career began.

Before Julien’s solo career began, he was a member of Opensouls. He played drums and produced much of their music. Opensouls released In Your Hands and Turn It Up in 2004. He co-produced the B-Side of Turn It Up, What Do You Do. Then in 2006, Julien produced Opensouls’ debut album Kaleidoscope. However, there was more to Julien’s career than Opensouls. Much more.

During this period, Julien was working with a variety of New Zealand’s top soul and hip hop artists. This included Fat Freddy’s Drop, James Duncan, Opensouls, She’s So Rad, Sola Rosa, Eru Dangerspiel and Christoph El Truento. Then in 2007, Julien got the opportunity to work with the Mizelli Brothers.

Previously, the Mizelli Brothers had worked with such luminaries as Donald Byrd and Sun Ra. Now in 2007, Julien had the opportunity to learn from them. This was as part of the A Class Of Its Own recording sessions, which were held in Cologne, Germany. Later that year, Julien released his Phantom Limb E.P. All the time, he was working with other artists and was still a member of Opensouls.

In 2008, Opensouls released their single Dollars. Julien produced the B-Side Sweet Love, which featured vocals from Ladi 6. This would be the last Opensouls’ release for a couple of years. In the interim period, Julien could concentrate on his solo career.

2009 saw Julien release his debut album Pins and Digits. It was originally released on the Japanese boutique label Wonderful Noise. Then BBE Music picked up on Pins and Digits, releasing it in the UK and Europe. Released to critical acclaim, Pins and Digits was a favorite of DJs and tastemakers. So much so, that critics hailed Pins and Digits as one of the best albums of 2009. Given the success of Julien’s debut album, it looked like he’d a big future ahead of him. Surely his sophomore album wouldn’t be faraway?

There was a gap of two years before Julien Dyne released Glimpse on BBE Music. In between the release of Pins and Digits and Glimpse, Opensouls released their sophomore album Standing In The Rain during 2010. Then when Glimpse was released, it had been well worth the wait. It built on Pins and Digits, and saw Julien explore new directions musically. Boundaries were pushed and he continued to innovate. Following the release of Glimpse, Julien headed out on tour, and for the next two years, spent his time touring, collaborating, producing and working on his third album December.

December has just been released by BBE Music. It sees Julien build on the music of Glimpse. In some ways, December is a continuation of the music on Glimpses. However, Julien takes this music to the next level. He does this with the help of Parks, Mara TK of Electric Wire Hustle and Dalziel of Dear Time’s Wast. The result is fourteen futuristic, innovative, genre-melting 21st Century soundscapes. Everything from ambient, experimental, funk, hip hop, house, post-industrial and soul melts into one on December. The music envelops you, its fuzzy, feel-good sound developing and evolving. Growing, heading in new and different directions, December is a magical, mystical, musical mystery tour, which I’ll pick the highlights of.

Given the quality of December, choosing just a few of the highlights isn’t easy. Fools, which opens December, certainly grabs your attention. So much is happening at the one time. A myriad of nuances, subtleties and secrets await discovery. Everything from ambient, hip hop, electronica, experimental and funk unite. Bass bins are punished while washes of synths, handclaps and bursts of  vocals escape from the arrangement. Then the arrangement settles down, meandering melodically along. Melodic, wistful and enchanting, the track doesn’t reveal all its secrets at once. Several listens later and you’re still hearing something new.

The title-track December features a guest appearance from Parks. Racing along like an express train, Parks’ light, airy vocal is accompanied by cascading harmonies. Then there’s the buzzing bass, synths and keyboards. They provide the perfect foil for Parks’ vocal, on this fusion of hip hop, electronica, pop and soul. Indeed, soulful and catchy describes this track.

Fog has an old school sound. A combination of hip hop, dub, electronica, jazz and ambient music. Elements of A Tribe Called Quest and Nightmares On Wax shines through. It’s best described as a collage of influences and instruments. With a crackly, old school sound, drums pound while the Fog shelters the mainstay of the mesmeric, jazz-tinged, hypnotic arrangement. Filters shelter everything from stabs of keyboard, melancholy horns, synths and samples. You’re drawn to this track, hypnotised, mesmerised and enchanted by its ambient, old school sound.

Real Life features another of Julien Dyne’s guest artist. Here, She’s So Rad plays a part in this ethereal soundscape. Waves of music assail you. They’re akin to  a musical journey across a stormy sea. You’re swept away, While part of the arrangement is elegant and ethereal, thanks to bursts of vocal and synths The other part is dramatic, thanks to thunderous, pounding drums. They add an element of drama and seem to be part of Julien’s trademark sound. Despite being polar opposites, the two part of this ethereal soundscape prove to be like ying and yang.

Dirtcrystal unravels at breakneck speed. Bursts of a buzzing bass synth are joined by crisp drums and washes of synths. Ethereal harmonies glide in. They givie way to Mara TK’s vocal. Heartfelt and soulful, his vocal matches the urgency of the arrangement. Jazzy horns, cascading harmonies and the hopeful vocal are joined by the myriad of synths and drums. The result is a soulful, dramatic and urgent track, where Julien Dyne innovates by creating genre-melting music.

Wood and Break is full of surprises. After a couple of curveballs, which seem designed to wrong foot you, is a real gem. What follows is an ethereal, ambient track that cocoons you with its sci-fi soulful sound. 

Tonight which features Dalziel’s vocal, has a much more understated arrangement. Space is left within the soulful, dance-floor friendly arrangement. This allows the music to breath. As for Dalziel’s vocal, it’s crucial to the success of a track that’s one of December’s highlights. 

Cron features a space-age, ambient, dubby sound. Atop the arrangement are the pounding drums. They thunder across the arrangement. Behind them, the arrangement is a fusion of musical genres. Ambient, jazz, hip hop, funk, soul and dub are combined seamlessly. The result is a multilayered, hook-laden, dance track that’s truly irresistible.

Best described as a fusion of hip hop, electronica and dub, Kingawesome is another example of what Julien Dyne does so well. He draws inspiration from a wide range of musical influences and genres, and incorporates them into his music. What follows is a musical tapestry. Everything from ambient, dub, electronica, funk,  hip hop, jazz and soul melts into one. Featuring Julien’s trademark drum sound, plus a whole host of musical surprises, it’s another example Julien’s reinvention.

Closing December is Thinking One Thing and Doing Five Others. It has a dreamy, ethereal and wistful sound. You’re cocooned and floaty away in this fuzzy musical bubble. Brian Eno and the Cocteau Twins spring to mind as influences on what’s one of Julien’s finest moments. You float away, without a care in the world. Accompanying you, are a backdrop of melancholy, jazzy horns and percussion. So do drums and synths. They’re part of a dreamy, lysergic and a wistful track envelops and cocoons you.

Although I’ve just picked ten of the fourteen tracks on December, I could’ve just as easily have picked any of the tracks. Julien Dyne has surpassed everything that’s gone before. December is a musical coming of age for him. Good as Pins and Digits and the followup, Glimpse were, December which was recently released by BBE Music, is the best album of his career so far. We heard glimpses of December on Glimpse. It showed the direction Julien’s music was heading. With the help of a few friends, he produced an album that saw his music evolve.

Playing their part in December, were a whole host of guest artists. Among them are Parks, Mara TK of Electric Wire Hustle and Dalziel of Dear Time’s Wast. They play a part in the musical success story that’s December, an album Julien Dyne should be proud of. The reason for that is, Julien’s music evolves on December. There was never any chance this would be Glimpse 2. No chance. Julien Dyne isn’t like that. He’s ambitious and innovative and as a result, produces exciting, groundbreaking and genre-melting music.

That’s why December is an album I’d recommend thoroughly. Especially, if you’ve yet to discover Julien Dyne’s music. The perfect starting point is December. After that, explore the twin delights of Pins and Digits and Glimpse. You’ll hear a talented, innovative artist, who seems determined to reinvent himself musically. Julien does this, by combining an eclectic selection of musical genres and influences. Everything from ambient, dub, electronica, experimental, funk, hip hop, pop, post-industrial and soul are thrown into the melting pot. It’s the given a stir, and the result is December, the best album of Julien Dyne’s career. Standout Tracks: Fog, Real Life, Wood and Break and Thinking One Thing and Doing Five Others.

JULIEN DYNE-DECEMBER.