General Fuzz – Soulful Filling [Independent]
Posted by Andre on January 27, 2009 under Albums | 
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James Kirsch (or JimmyK) grew up in Newton, MA, playing classical piano and absorbing everything from Suzanne Ciani to Metallica. He attended Oberlin college in Ohio, hoping to further his musical horizons at their prestigious conservatory. Fast forward to 2009, and 5 albums later, James is well known in the online space as General Fuzz.
Honing his soft-spoken cutting edge sound, Fuzz manages to pluck sounds from a multitude of genres; Genres which I’d claim have shaped his sound and continue to evolve from album to album. For more on his evolution, be sure to check out his full bio @ GeneralFuzz.net. The album remains downtempo at it’s core and his cunning titles showcase a truly insightful side to this artist.
Read on for a few samples of the tracks on this album that really spoke to me and be sure to grab your very own copy of the album. Did I forget to mention its completely free?
I’ll preface this by saying I don’t normally listen, or review for that matter, downtempo/chillout productions. I was drawn to this album, mostly for it’s free status (at least originally) but also for the story behind how James put it all together, which you can find here.
I’ve got to say that the very first track on the album, ‘Forget me knot’ absolutely blew me away. It starts with a mellow sequence of pads that mingle together. The track progresses through a few different landscapes, all the while maintaining a peaceful air that manages to relax me. A dubbed out bassline is introduced further into the track, giving it structure and a direction. Unlike my usual fare, this bassline reminds me more of a deep house breakbeat, where what’s missing is often times the most important part.
Moving on from there we journey through a tripped out soundscape that presents plucked strings, windswept pads and synths, violins (check out ‘Comfort Zone’ for something deep and dark) and absolutely no vocals (unless you consider the ‘voice’ used in ‘Fuzzy Prayer’ vocals). It’s pretty dangerous to completely forgo the use of vocals in an album, especially since it’s easy to find yourself noticing how programmed, or rehearsed, something is without the use of a human voice. However, on this album, never once will you find yourself pondering such a dastardly thought. The use of real instruments throughout the album gives it character, life and soul.
If you’re in the hunt for something to toss on during, maybe, a romantic supper, as a prelude to an evening or something to listen to while reading your favorite novel of the moment, this is exactly what you’ve been looking for. Emotions abound throughout, and it isn’t unlike a well crafted novel. Plus, the damn thing is free…you simply have no reason NOT to check this out!
A few samples
Eye Heart Knot
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Goodbyes
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Warm Steel
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Links of Interest
General Fuzz Website (which includes his other 4 free albums)
Full Biography (taken from generalfuzz.net)
James Kirsch (or JimmyK) grew up in Newton, MA, playing classical piano and absorbing everything from Suzanne Ciani to Metallica. He attended Oberlin college in Ohio, hoping to further his musical horizons at their prestigious conservatory. Disillusioned by the competitive nature of their classical music program, he stumbled upon the electronic music program (TIMARA) in the conservatory basement and never looked at sheet music again. This coupled with discovering the magic of Orbital and jamming in bands widened his musical appetites immensely. The arrival of software which virtualized an electronic music studio was cleverly aligned with his ejection into the “real world” of San Francisco. Unsatisfied with the popular consensus that electronic music = techno, General Fuzz was born. Hatched, really.
If you are still craving more general fuzz background info, you can also read the long version of the bio.
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