About the review

Title: Boîte Diabolique
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Artist: Nyje
Genre: Electronica: Drum & Bass
Reviewed by: thecanary on December 21, 2008 (All reviews by thecanary)

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1Overall Description
A dark, yet funky piece of techstep that brings to mind the works of Ed Rush & Optical (see their "Chameleon" album) or the Upbeats. The nineteen forbidden notes don't actually appear in this track- but that's probably because the artist determined that they sounded too light and fluffy for this mix.
 
2Creativity Description
This thing drips with creativity, as does anything Nyje does- particularly when he steps outside the box of his more "usual" house & electro sounds. Like his other drum 'n' bass tunes, Nyje inspires jealousy in this listener- cleverly arranged buildups & breakdowns, punishing beats, a lead melody that goes ten steps beyond the average techstep madness of intense repetition; all these elements make for a song that is scary, yet danceable- something you're afraid to listen to again, but can't wait to hear.
 
3Arrangement Description
Arrangement is top notch. The song flows from one section to another with cunning agility, carrying the listener along on a dark wind of minor-chord melodies and satanic percussion. I particularly like the breakdown in this track, and the way the melody, drum, and bass build back up to the drop point. I can't say enough nice stuff about the melodic line in this track- savage!
 
4Sound Quality Description
Let's talk about drums first, since this is a drum 'n' bass song. The cymbal work in this track is nice and crispy, from the intro to the ending. I particularly like the way things kick off after the vocal intro. The kick drum sounds savage and menacing, like an angry caveman stepping on your head. The snare gives you a nice slap to the ear, but my ear wanted just a little bit more high frequency to it, a little bit more crisp to make it rise above all the low-frequency that abounds in this song. The glitchy background noise that persists throughout the track is placed perfectly in the mix- it never gets too much of the foreground, and it never gets completely drowned out. The main synth- an electric-guitar-esque hoover type thing sounds awesome; powerful, crunchy, delivering its funk like a death threat. The piano notes that sound occasionally through the track sound a little on the sampled side- there's some kind of flange-type effect on them that doesn't sit quite right with my ears. The only other complaint I can come up with in the sound quality department is a lack of sub-bass in the track. I kept wanting a nice sub-bass shiver at the begining of each bar (something in the range of 75 to 95 k). These minor complaints add up to one star missing in this category.
 
5Vocals Description
I guess one could say that there are "vocals" in this track; no singing, of course, but vocals nonetheless. The samples used are perfect for the piece; they establish an atmosphere that the music backs up with a vengeance. Excellent choices.
 
6Does it work as a piece of music Description
Works great for me. If an non-initiate wanted me to tell them all about drum 'n' bass, I'd play this song for them.
 
Comments
Dec 22 2008 3:34 am
by Nyje
On an added note, there are several notes on the arpeggio. It's a matter of which of those notes are considered forbidden. Sound quality is noted; there was a lot of elements squeezed in while attempting to provide the pushed sound provided by compressor(s). The sub-bass was the unfortunate victim. But, there is always a next time. Thank you again for the well-rounded review.