New Age Voice - A Review by Jeff Johansen

ELECTROPICA
Richard Bone

     Richard bone again delivers a quirky, delightful performance on Electropica. Inspired by several bosa nova masters, Bone has put together his second "ambient lounge" music CD, which is not quite as light hearted or dark as Metaphysic Mambo. Richard has a distinctive muse. This music is strictly electronic, pleasant, deliberate, and cool, with the signature bassy electronics to be found in all of Bone's albums. The strange vocal samples on three of the tracks are also consistent with his past sound. The lounge atmosphere and simplicity of instrumentation may make one wonder if Bone should be taken seriously. One of my coworkers on hearing "Ipanema 2000" danced around the room saying it reminded her of some guy in a purple leisure suit in a bar saying "This one's for you, baby." Exactly. She pinned the mood. The music is clever and compelling. The ambience varies from sad, to sultry, to mysterious, to peaceful calm. I especially recommend "Little Orpheus", "Ipanema 2000", "Pao, Baby" and hidden track 12. My favorite is "Amazona Adeus", with its dark edge and full, sweeping sound. Richard bone is a real original at a time when few artists stand out as truly unique. If you are looking for ambient music with a weird twist, then "This one's for you, baby!"

Instrumentation: synthesizers and samplers.

  Jeff Johansen