Blockhead - Downtown Science
Released Oct. 18, 2005
on Ninja Tune
Love affairs fall apart and pigeons take flight. Street musicians play rusted instruments, break-dancers flirt with sidewalks and commuters line subway cars. Some prefer to walk the city alone and breathe it all in.
On Downtown Science, Blockhead captures and arranges sounds as diverse as the people and sights found in downtown Manhattan. His sophomore solo effort serves as a fitting soundtrack to the city he has lived in all his life.
Strings and woodwinds mingle with synthesizers and horns. Harmonica and rock guitars add contrast. The funkiest track, “The Art Of Walking,” acts as a nod to the b-boy movement. Dusty vocal samples and downtempo breakbeats lace the album.
Despite the varied instrumentation and emotions, the ambitious work remains cohesive. Blockhead tells a magnificent story without lyrics. The music is enough.
“By the time [debut album] Music by Cavelight dropped I was already somewhere else musically,” Blockhead said in the new album’s press release. “The overall progression is a more complete sound.”
Downtown Science solidifies Blockhead’s status as a compelling hip-hop producer capable of standing on his own.
The CD comes with a DVD containing film interpretations of Music by Cavelight in its entirety.
Highly recommended.