Pitch Perfect
  • Pitch Perfect
  • Indie Music Album Reviews
  • About
  • Submissions
  • Top albums
  • Features
  • Contact

Lopoli - The New Paradigm

9/19/2013

0 Comments

 
Picture
Lopoli

The New Paradigm
self-released; 2013

3.9 out of 5

By Sean Dennison


This is fun to listen to: a guy named Vivien Cabrol aka Lopoli hears about Alan Lomax, gets interested in Americana on top of already being preoccupied with music sampling, combines his two interests, and bam, the first genuinely folk-hop recording I've ever heard. The idea of seriously marrying hip-hop and folk music is probably in the back of many musicians in both camps, locked in the cellar that's separated from the basement by a cement wall. But seriously? Not that bad.

Cabrol uses simple but clean beats along with his samples of flute, banjo, harmonica, etc. The results are, at worst, unmemorable but there is nothing unlistenable on this album. His experiments work most brilliantly when he creates a quick drum loop and cycles it over a single instrumental sample. "The Chase" is one of the best examples on The New Paradigm, with war flutes and rubber-bandy guitar entering at various stages of sudden percussion. The result is less tension from a chase and more relaxation after a run but it works. "Waking Up" and "On the Smile Side" show what this genre has to offer, the former with super muted samples of flutes and guitars under the surface of a slow, resigned drum beat, the latter with a much sunnier assignment of a quickly repeated guitar strum with a horn section that injects a bit of jazz into the mix.

The album maintains a generally warm feeling about, despite the abrupt cut-offs for some of the loops and the plodding rhythms found in some of the songs. Even the chilly "Some Will Try to Break You" features ambient noise that counters Cabrol's robotic vocals. On the subject of Cabrol's vocals, you will find a man who knows how to best use them. He isn't technically gifted, but whereas most musicians make the mistake of throwing their voice against the music, Cabrol simply builds compositions that make use of his voice, which sounds best during the slower-tempo songs (again, "Some Will Try to Break You" is a great example).

I'm still not entirely on board with the idea of folk-hop. None of the songs outstay their welcome, but it doesn't have the rustic punch I was expecting. Indeed, many of the songs here would sound better on a subway ride during a foggy morning rather than during a walk in the woods on a foggy morning.

Still, unusual instrument samples and thoughtful rhythms make The New Paradigm well-worth exploring. Also, you can be the first to claim folk-hop as "your thing."
0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

       Critique/insight

    We are dedicated to informing the public about the different types of independent  music that is available for your listening pleasure as well as giving the artist a professional critique from a seasoned music geek. We critique a wide variety of niche genres like experimental, IDM, electronic, ambient, shoegaze and much more.

    Tweets by pitchperfect158
    Are you one of our faithful visitors who enjoys our website? Like us on Facebook


    Archives

    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012

Company

About
Contributors

Newsletter

Newsletter
© Pitch Perfect 2022. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
  • Pitch Perfect
  • Indie Music Album Reviews
  • About
  • Submissions
  • Top albums
  • Features
  • Contact