Eric O’Rourke is the one contributor to this Eotribe album although the project biography refers back to some club nights in Orlando, Florida and to early collaborators Shawn McClure and Craig Misjais. “Hard-hitting house” and “down-tempo trip hop” are the flags to wave while the whistles and minds are being blown. It's nine tracks of dance music, but it might appeal more to the sound specialists than happy bands of old school ravers. Hence the "Headphone People" target in the title.
Orlando's eotribe parties have closed down now, but Eric set off a while ago with no more than a PC and a house full of cute software and hardware to see if an album couldn't be made. Reference points are declared to be Orbital, Chemical Brothers, Prodigy, Groove Armada, Fat Boy Slim, and Moby.
The differences between one mathematical Cubase construction and another need real aficionado listening, and my apologies dear reader for not bringing that to you. All I can say is that I have heard all the reference points and I've given this album a good listen – on some meaty Rogers speakers rather than headphones, granted.
In the constraints of the basic rhythms and dance conventions each track does have a different sound texture – achieved in part by using a different set-up for each track. There are some arresting samples, like the (now clicheed) blues wail on "The String Theory". "Organic Groove" also stands out with its sinuous bass noise and lots of busy percussive hits and keyboard tunes. But none of the tracks go far beyond the fascinating source material testing that seems to be the primary motivation for the album. Ear candy and thievable noises are there in abundance, but I listened in vain for a well constructed piece that had a life or an expressive shape of its own. Counting up to 32, dropping samples in and out, and changing key for the drama don’t really count for me. My amateur ears can hear those black notes being plundered over and again for their instant two bar hook-production qualities.
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But maybe I'm being unnecessarily cynical. All I can say for sure is that if, like me, you only wander into electronic music when it gets truly spectacular or creative, then you can safely leave this one alone. If you’re more attuned, and you’re looking for nuances and obscurities that your mates don’t know yet – this could be your album. And you'll know fine well that "EOTRIBE" will Google you right through to the download or the full product purchase.
My best guess is the real fans of this stuff have access to much better, or can produce their own using the same kit as our Eric. Patience, sincerity and a couple of thousand pounds worth of gubbins should do it.
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