Not-hardcore appreciation.

According to last.fm, my top tags are melodic hardcore, hardcore, metalcore, post-hardcore and punk. My top played artists are The Ghost Inside (hardcore), Fact (post-hardcore) and No Harm Done (melodic hardcore). But believe it or not, though hardcore does make up the bulk of my library I do listen to other stuff. And so every now and then I shall dediacte a review to the music of mine that isn't of the hardcore/metal/punk variety.

Amon Tobin, Foley Room
Probably one of the most interesting artists I listen to, there's a good reason he's my highest-played electronic artist. I've always been a sucker for the experimental, the odd, the creative. And Foley Room delivers solidly on all fronts. I first heard of Amon through the inFamous soundtrack; he was one of several musicians to contribute, and the one who grabbed my attention the most. He seemed to have clicked well to the mood of the game, as his music grinded and clanked in a city-like ambient way. I looked more into this, and it seemed Amon was the mastermind behind the whole soundtrack, with techniques of his being prominently used. The very techniques used for Foley Room.

Inspired by foley rooms used for recording sound effects for films, the entire album was field recorded - Amon delved into the streets with assistants and microphones and recorded any obscure noise they could find. Barely any aspect of the album was recorded inside the studio: there the sounds were only tinkered and engineered into Foley Room. The result is amazing. Through primarily known as an electronic/dance musician, with this album Amon plunged-headlong into the world of ambient, though maybe not on purpose, and emerged an incredible victor. The result is a sometimes haunting, sometimes lively, and always atmospheric album which paints vivid images in the mind of the bustling and industrial, sparse and apocalyptic.