Review Summary: Definitely far from Minneapolis, but more importantly far from anything you’ve heard before.
Most times when you listen to an album you feel a sense of the place where that music or art was made, where it came from and what it’s influences were. If this feeling was strong enough that several local artists responded to it in a similar and effective way, a scene is born. It happens all the time. Some are large and their influence wide reaching, while some fade away silently without making so much as a ripple outside of a few small clubs. As a scene ages it undoubtedly produces an army of coattail riding copycats trying to recreate the art of the trendsetters, who at some point may forget what made their old ideas so potent in the first place. Unfortunately for music scenes, they go bad like a carton of eggs and fans are eventually stuck with something that might still look like it did when it was new but smells old.
Being part of a scene makes things easy for fans and artists alike. That said it takes a lot of gumption and ability for a new artist to take a pass on the easy exposure generated from jumping on the music bandwagon. Minneapolis based producer/composer DJ Unwind is just this kind of artist. His new album, Far From Here the EP out April 2010 on the independent record label Velvet Music Group is a seven song collection of mostly instrumental tracks that complete what the liner notes call “a unique concept album composed from being ‘far from selfishness, politics, corruption, pop culture and materialism’.” For a producer with ears like DJ Unwind, to take a step back, a deep breath and a fresh approach to music speaks volumes about his sincerity and credibility as an artist. Thanks to Unwind's masterful cinematic approach to production, each track stands strongly on it’s own even without any highlighting vocal performances.
There is a lot of music packed onto Far From Here's 27 minutes and seven songs, but you might not notice it right away. It’s the kind of music that has something for the casual listener and the audiophile alike. Quick three to four minute compositions that work perfect behind breezy beats but retain enough hidden surprises to keep you coming back for more. Watch out or these sounds will become the soundtrack to your warm summer nights from here on out with Unwind's dizzyingly beautiful compositions lying somewhere between Thievery Corporation and your favorite Portuguese beach. Definitely far from Minneapolis, but more importantly far from anything you’ve heard before.
