Introduction
Knowz and Darkside – the Martian Chronicles EP
Artist: Knowz and Darkside
Title / Release Page: The Martian Chronicles
Release Date: 2014 Dec 01
Genre: Downtempo
License: CC BY-NC-ND
Media: MP3 / FLAC / OGG
Pricing: Name Your Price
Label: BandCamp / Dusted Wax Kingdom
Rating: ★★★★★★★
Back in July, I was impressed with Darkside’s Unknown Sequence at a time when I felt that many of the of downtempo releases I was listening to were stale. When this release popped up on my radar recently, I know that I would have to listen to how Knowz and Darkside chronicle Martians.
Knowz and Darkside Chronicle Martians
So, let me start by saying, this is definitely not a continuation of the work Darkside did on Unknown Sequence. However, that isn’t a negative statement. Knowz and Darkside are are doing their own thing on this release, and it brings out some different qualities. They have produced a work that has the feeling of music from the 1950’s set in a modern form. A well felt tribute to the science fiction work it is titled after.
This release hearkens back to some of the early downtempo and trip-hop that turned me on to the genre in the first place. Beautifully sampled and looped instrumentals, layered over a chilled out beats with a heavy groove. The breaks flow smoothly and freely, providing variation to keep the tunes from becoming monotonous. The pieces are punctuated with little odd sounds that provide a counter point to the main groove of the tracks.
The whole thing has a very retro feeling to it. Worthy of The Martian Chronicles title, borrowed from the 1950’s Ray Bradbury short story collection, about the colonization of Mars by a group of people who have left earth before the onset of nuclear war. The stories center around the conflicts between the humans with the aboriginal Martians on Mars, the war on earth, and the aftermath of the war. This is a book that is considered by many to be one of the classic science fiction pulp novels (along with several other Bradbury novels.)
Conclusion
This isn’t the same type of work that Darkside produced on Unknown Sequence. This work is a tribute of the writing of Ray Bardbury. It borrows a lot of it’s feeling from music of the 1950’s. It’s a well produced body of work that is well structured and flows naturally. Definitely worth checking out.
