Supermodified

Rate It! Avg: 4.5 (61 ratings)
Sample Album
Supermodified album cover
Album Information
EDITOR'S PICK

Total Tracks: 12   Total Length: 67:20

eMusic Review 0

Avatar Image
Peter Shapiro

eMusic Contributor

12.14.10
A man converses with his sampler — and all you can do is stand back and nod in admiration.
2000 | Label: Ninja Tune

Originally from Brazil, Amon Tobin first attracted notice as part of the post-jazz school of breakbeat construction, splicing together jazz breaks, Latin percussion fills and soundtrack atmospheres. Supermodified was Tobin’s third album for Ninja Tune and moves away from the jazz samples that characterised his earlier records in favour of a more eclectic, more invigorating sonic palette. While Supermodified can sound too much like a man having a conversation with his sampler, it’s nevertheless an impressive album spanning a wide variety of moods. Its only problem is that, rather than inviting you in, it too often invites you to stand back and nod in admiration.

Write a Review 0 Member Reviews

Please register before you review a release. Register

Recommended Albums

eMusic Features

20 Years of Ninja Tune
0

20 Years of Ninja Tune

By Administrator, eMusic Contributor

Nobody puts Ninja in a corner. The London label Ninja Tune, founded in 1990 by Coldcut's Jonathan More and Matt Black, may have gained a rep in the '90s as a home for head-nodding trip-hop and downtempo — perhaps unsurprisingly, given the stoner affect of names like the Herbaliser and Funki Porcini — but in truth, they've always been far more adventurously varied. Even in the early years, artists like New York hip-hop pioneer Steinski… more »

They Say All Music Guide

Farther away from drum’n'bass and closer to big-beat techno (with a little turntablist mayhem thrown in), Amon Tobin’s third album for Ninja Tune breaks out with a devastating opener, “Get Your Snack On.” The track turns out to be just one of the highlights on Supermodified, a dense, plunderphonic kaleidoscope of an album with giant, noisy jazz breaks and groovy electronic synthwork. It’s got quite a bit of the retro-sounding sampling of Permutation (orchestra strings, jazz combos, groovy psychedelic basslines) along with a wider variety of material, from driving funky-breaks productions (“Four Ton Mantis”) and playful cut’n'paste numbers (“Precursor,” “Chocolate Lovely”), to darkstep jungle (“Golfer Vrs. Boxer”) and surprisingly touching minimalist melancholia (“Slowly,” “Deo”). Tobin’s again made great strides in his production skills, and the range and greatness of this material serves as proof positive. – John Bush

more »