| Brace Yourself | 
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Avg. Customer Rating:   (based on 21 reviews) Sales Rank: 43935 Category: Music
Artists: -ziq, Mu-ziq Publisher: Astralwerks Studio: Astralwerks Manufacturer: Astralwerks Label: Astralwerks Format: Ep, Single Media: Audio CD Discs: 1 Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2 Dimensions (in): 5.6 x 5 x 0.5
UPC: 017046623520 EAN: 0017046623520 ASIN: B000006785
Release Date: May 5, 1998 Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Tracks:
| | Brace Yourself | | | Kubba | | | Vaken Bolt | | | Losers March | | | Summer Living | | | Intellitag | | | Abmoit | | | Brace Yourself (Reprise) |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com U-Ziq's the most high-profile alias of unassuming young Mike Paradinas, who, using little black boxes and a computer, makes hilariously vibrant breakbeat-based music that's vibrant, alive, and almost organic. Though frequently compared with so-called drill and bass artists like Squarepusher and Wabi Sabi, Paradinas is one of the most fascinating musicians of any kind, no matter where you lump him. His stuff delights in imploding dance music conventions: hyper sped-up breaks crash into inter-linked loops and washes of sound in ways you've never heard before and likely never will again ... at least until the next U-Ziq record or remix. --Mike McGonigal
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| Customer Reviews: Read 16 more reviews...
  Radical yet restrictive February 21, 2008 3 1/2
Some of early drill and bass's finer work (and worthy companion piece to his Lunatic Harness) has this influential beatsmith hammering his simple though effective keyboard lines towards the point of no return. Naturally this type of skull-thumpery would best be suited towards the adventurous electronic types, though what Mu-Ziq helps do is bridge the gap between accessible dance-based techno and complex, schizophrenic creativity from some of the genre's more radical figures.
  Illegitimate Bastards April 12, 2007 1 out of 1 found this review helpful
A collection of outcast bastards from daddy Paladinas' fascinating "Lunatic Harness" family. Being a Mu-ziq fan I gave these guys a fair shake. Indeed these tracks have all the smooth under-melodies and hard break beat cuts as their pedigree main album brothers. But somehow they do not possesss the legerdemain of the Mu-ziq name. Maybe if they had been secretly held over into the next CD they could have blended in and stood their ground. I agree that they were not added to the main CD as this would have diluted it's intensity. Track #7 "Abmoit" does grab your interest with a unique stylistic presentation. Even the CD cover shows daddy turning his back on these feeble bastards. And why would he name one boy "Losers March"?
  this is really great stuff December 16, 2004 granted, this is my first mu-ziq record, but if this is any indication of his overall skill, its a shocker that his name is often not mentioned next to aphex twin, squarepusher, or autechre. this record has a great whimsical and melodic vibe, mixed with great beats. ziq obviously has a great sense of humor and serious sequencing skills. all the tracks are accessable. i can't wait to get more of his records.
  Follow the Bouncing Pong January 31, 2004 2 out of 4 found this review helpful
I was a latecomer when it came to U-ziq, sampling some of their first electronic pieces last and some of the pieces some described as "their worst" first. I actually thought those were all good works, too, finding "Royal Astronomy" to be a good album even though it seemed to be frowned upon and also enjoying the early portions, too. Still, that's the way that all bands are and U-ziq seems to be no exception. They cater to different people while they shift through phases, toting different brands of taste from one year to the other. And what would one expect, really, from a band experimenting with sound? I personally thought that Brace Yourself was done nicely, with it sparking my mind in different ways depending on the track. I liked the mad scramble playing out in the remix of "Brace Yourself" and carrying itself (albeit in a different light) into "Kubba." I didn't like the degeneration of "Brace Yourself" toward the center of the song, the "follow the bouncing pong" sound actually hurting it because it was overused just a little it too much and killing some of the other sounds. Still, I found some of the layering in that madhouse something of a treat, enjoying a little of the videogame taste housed within folds of the noise. "Kubba" held itself together better, with some of the sounds drifting to a resting point in the album and then growing atop the build, making it serene and still mad. The calm points in it, around 2:30 into the song, were really nice a layered, and that made it well worth listening to. I especially enjoyed the atmosphere cast into "Vaken Bolt," enjoying the almost floaty sound it birthed after the breeding of the track to my mind was finished, and I thought it set a interesting mood. I like the electronically haunted sounds floating to the top of the still-energetic stew, and thought that this piece was perhaps the best portion of the EP. I especially liked it after it developed somewhat, getting over a minute into the song and mixing in a small tapestry of sonic threads into the framework. "Losers March" was also pretty nicely done, with it utilizing many of the same elements that made the remix of "Brace Yourself" work out. It has a nice electronic feel to it, pacing itself well from beginning to end while giving a little madness to the beat from time to time just for kicks before it totally breaks down. For some reason I liked the chaos in the song, too, and I liked the way it seemed to teeter on the brink of it before it all fell down at the end. "Summer Living" has something of a mad electric rhythm to it, with sounds shooting through it at randomly contrived places and building blocks beating their ways into it as it lays sonic stepping stones. "Intellitag" is also a track I enjoyed a lot, with it taking sounds that seem almost calm and mixing them with a somewhat mad percussion section. I'd be listening to the cascade of noises, one moving in and another out, and I saw that it was all making the minute key strokes that were noticeable here and there seem like strange siren songs when they play in the background. And that struck me as something almost primally beautiful. And then there's "Abmoit," a build piece that isn't anywhere near my favorite flavor of song, and "Brace Yourself (Reprise)" finishing off the fold. The only problem I would note with the album as a whole is the fact that I didn't like one track on it and that it is indeed an EP. I personally find EP's lacking in many a right, wanting more when I finally get to them and notice that they only offer a taste of what I was in the market for, but that's rarely a bad thing if it leaves me wanting. I also wouldn't say this was U-Ziq's best, but its still worth checking out - provided that this isn't your starting point when you begin your listening odyssey.
  Disapointing June 9, 2002 1 out of 13 found this review helpful
I really can't stand this album. I like songs with more action and energy, and this has no flavor or beat to it.
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