The Pnuma Trio & Mansions On The Moon - Phat Beats To Celebrate a Deceased Osama

Current affairs get the first nod tonight, and as this is not the stated purpose of this blog, this won't happen often. This is however a momentous occasion.

So, good news... (though somewhat morbid)! Osama bit the dust.  Sounds like the SEALS got after it, and came out untouched.  This is of course a huge win for the Obama and Bush Administrations.  I give both Presidents the credit for a couple of reasons.

1. The identity of the courier that led to Osama's whereabouts was determined through interrogation at Gitmo during Bush's Presidency in 2007, and let's face it; we wouldn't have been over there, nor as resolute in the mission, if it weren't for former President Bush acting as Commander in Chief.
2. President Obama sounds like he was a real bad-ass in the Situation Room.  They planned it right, they executed it right, and they got the job done.  All men accounted for, they got their man, and civilian casualties were next to none, minus the female body-shield.  Sounds like President Obama nailed it.

Kudos to both, they both deserve credit, and it doesn't get any more bi-partisan than that folks!

Onto the goods!

You may have heard of these two bands, and they are both very worthy of a mention.  What is most interesting about them is that two-thirds of The Pnuma Trio makes up Mansions on the Moon.  Ben Hazelgrove and Lane Shaw are both members in both projects.  My guess at this point is that Mansions has replaced The Pnuma Trio, which is somewhat unfortunate, as I think each band brings something a little different to the table.  That must of course mean that the third guy is a real game changer!! :)

In The Pnuma Trio the "third guy" was Alex Botwin.  In Mansions on the Moon it is Ted Wendler.

Both are electronic bands by nature, and tend to blend in some hip-hop sounds.  However, Mansions on the Moon makes more of an effort to incorporate wonderfully harmonized vocals.  There is a strong vocoder presence in their material, which seems to be all the rage these days.  I am not a huge fan of a vocoder, but I will admit I like the way they use it.  The tracks each band creates are incredibly tight, and some are downright nasty-good.  So let's hear it!



THE PNUMA TRIO


The works you are about to hear are from their album Character which is a really solid album if you like this kind of stuff.  It is a little different style from what they originally were performing when they first started.  I have heard some live jams that they put together from years before their debut album, and they were quite nice.  This album is a different direction, but a direction I ended up liking quite a bit..








-Off Balance-
I am in love with this incredibly complex drum loop they have going here.  It is just intense and tight.  I am also a big fan of the vocals on this track and how it mixes with everything.  There is some really high-fidelity stuff going on here, and it is obvious that these guys are quite talented in the mixing area.




-Prefresh-
I love the initial loop and how they continually alter its sequencing over and over and meld it into the drum tracks.  It is a somewhat repetitive track, but I think its again another showcase of their production ability.




-Robot-
This is off of an earlier album called Live From Out There and I think it is a good example of their older stuff.  They can be pretty "jammy", but I do like it.





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MANSIONS ON THE MOON

This is a relatively new project, and they have a really nice website up for you to check out should you want to HERE.  This is a somewhat different sound than what you heard with Pnuma, and I think its a really neat start to something that shows promise of really being great.  Their debut album is called Paradise Falls.









-She Makes Me Feel-
This track is just a really solid example of the harmony power this trio possesses.  It is clear they have some serious N.E.R.D influences, which I suppose is appropriate given their recording track record mentioned on their site.  I love the tempo of this song, and I think its really the gem on Paradise Falls.




-Satellite-
So you get a chance to record with Deadmau5?  Yeah... I would take it too.  This is a nice housey-trancey type track, and I liked it quite a bit.




-Love Is Going To Destroy Me-
I am a fan of this short little song as well.  Nice harmonization, and sometimes there is real beauty in short and simple music.




Hope you all enjoyed, hit me with your comments and/or suggestions!

-CS