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Textura (Toronto, Canada) - May 2007 - by Ron Schepper |
| Tripofagia (Brazil) - about Abricot project - 2003 |
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Their music is an hypnotic downtempo; atmospheric, chilled, jazzy, darkish, but specially beautiful. Abricot is one of the newest bands and the scene. They still haven't debuted, but the excellence of their music can't be hidden. If you are into downbeat, you will still hear about them a lot of times, believe me. |
| ZAP magazine (B) - Octobre 2005 - by Axl Peleman |
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(dutch)(scrolll down for english) Van een heel andere stal zijn deze Colour Kane. Geen onversneden, rauw geweld, maar op een zeer geraffineerde manier klaargemaakte electro-pop, met een trip-hop sausje, en een klein tikkeltje gemarineerd in Keltische vocalen. Ik durf er bijna een arm voor afkappen dat dit laatste niet echt de bedoeling geweest is, maar zo interpreteer ik het wel. De zang is loepzuiver, maar door het monotoon karakter ervan klinkt het een beetje als ... tja ... Sinead O'connor. Bon, je kan het een pak slechter treffen natuurlijk. De loops zijn fenomenaal knap in elkaar gepuzzeld, en hetgeen me vooral opviel is de zeer gevarieerde bas. Zeker in "Too Late" laat die zich van z'n beste kant zien. In elk geval, deze cd is uitermate geschikt om te draaien op zwoele Indian Summer-avonden als deze. Mijn vrouw (en ik beschouw m'n ega als iemand met veel goede smaak) heeft dit schijfje al geconfisqueerd. En dat doet ze bijna nooit. Say no more. Bon, de vier nummers steken in m'n I-Pod en ik denk niet dat ze gauw van die harde schijf zullen verdwijnen. Mooi, mooi, mooi ... |
| (english)
Of a total different air is Colour Kane. None of that unpolished, raw brutality here, but a kind of electro-pop that has been prepared in a most subtle way, with a triphop topping and slightly marinated in celtic-like vocals. I dear to bet the latter wasn't really the intention, but at least I take it that way. The vocals are crystal clear, but in a monotone manner that makes it sound a bit as ... err ... Sinead O'Connor. But allright, you could get away with it much worse. The loops are brilliantly put together, and what catched my attention the most are the highly varied bass lines. Especially in "Too Late", he gives the best of himself. Anyhow, this cd is most suitable to spin on a sultry indian summer evening like this. My wife (and I consider my better half as someone with lots of good taste) has already confiscated this little disc. And that, she almost never does. Say no more. Whatever, the four songs reside in my I-Pod and I don't think they'll soon dissapear from my harddisk. Simply beautifull... |
| Fingers in the nose (F)- Octobre 8th 2005 |
| Les belges de Colour Kane sont de nouveaux venus sur la scène pop. Leur musique est comme un jardin multicolore, agréable croisement de courants divers, mélodies pop éthérées, guitares à la Robin Guthrie, et rythmique trip-hop. Ce duo masculin (Bruno et Jirí) accompagné ici par la chanteuse Marjan, évoluait auparavant sous le nom d'Abricot Project. Il évoque parfois The Pollen, un groupe français aujourd'hui disparu ou bien également Area. Mais c'est surtout la parenté musicale avec le Cocteau Twins dernière période qui est évidente (sur "Too late" notamment). On y nage dans les mêmes eaux calmes et apaisantes, le corps et l'esprit au repos, prêt pour le voyage intérieur. Ce premier jet est véritablement prometteur, donne envie de les suivre et de découvrir d'autres petites bulles multicolores... |
| Belang Van Limburg (B)- Octobre 30th 2005 |
| Jeugdhuis X organiseerde een lounge-weekend. "Lounge is rustige muziek om te relaxeren die maakt wordt met elektronische instrumenten. Op het internet wordt lounge ook wel eens omschreven als stemmingsmuziek die de hardwerkende jonge generatie moet ontspannen", legt Steve Jans van de jeugddienst uit. Vrijdagavond draaide in jeugdhuis X een lounge-dj, zaterdagavond trad de groep Colour Kane op, een lounge- groep van de gitaristen Joeri Gydé en Bruno Kimpe. De Hoeseltse zangeres Marjan Snykers wil zich echter geen lounge-etiquette later opkleven. |
| Indizoo Magazine (New York, US)- March 2006 |
| This pop trio has a light, dreamy sound that's like layers of clouds floating overhead ...pastel coloured sounds and sweet vocals will have you dancing..... |
| WARC FM (US)- May 2006 |
| Western Pennsylvania and WARC FM love Colour Kane! So dreamy and etherial -- lovely! |
| Lagniappe Magazine (Louisiana, US)- July 2006 - by Brad Goins |
| The overall feel of the band's intial release (a three-song EP) is very chill-out, even though the beats themselves may be of the triphop or trance or drum and bass variety. Translation for non-electronica fans: It's very good music to listen to if you need to wind down after a stressfull day.
The lyrics are reminiscent of Cocteau Twins, This Mortal Coil, Dead Can Dance and oter 4AD bands. This sound is backed throughout by electronica beats. It's a mix I don't think I've heard before. The closest comparisons might be Mandalay or the Massive attack songs that feature female vocals. I read that the band has opened for Robin Guthrie. Apparently that is no coincidence. Colour Kane's EP starts off with some vaguely drum and bass beats that reminded me of the ones in Aphex Twin's drumming monkey video. There are some trippy effects here, but they're pretty quiet and atmospheric. Don't expect feverish scratching and dense sampling. The disc's second cut is built on a trance beat that's prominent througout the song. The third cut moves into a downbeat tempo and minor chords. The mood is reflective without being somber. About three minutes into the cut, a series of beautifull hookes get layered in, first by the vocalist, then the guitars and effects. There is remarkably stron, impressive lyricism at work in the last two minutes of this EP. |
| Cutting Edge (B)- Januari 26th 2007 - by Jennifer Beckers |
| (dutch only)
Ken je dat? Je komt terug van een lange dag werken, het naarstig getyp op toetsenborden, het gezoem van computers en de flauwe grappen van je collega’s gonzen nog na in je oren. Het enige wat je wil is knus op de bank gaan liggen, een glas wijn drinken en naar ontspannende muziek luisteren. Enter Colour Kane: Bruno, Marjan en Jirí spinnen muzikale landschappen waar je languit in kunt gaan liggen. |
| Textura (Toronto, Canada) - May 2007 - by Ron Schepper |
| Dream pop outfit Colour Kane’s A Taste Of is a magisterial debut that’ll strongly appeal to fans of Lush and Cocteau Twins—no surprise, then, to find Robin Guthrie collaborating with the Belgian band on the penultimate song “Seaside Dream.” The group traffics in radiant pop where chiming guitar masses explode with shoegaze splendour and majestic vocal swirls shimmer in the sunlight. Though not quite as distinctive as Liz Fraser’s (whose is?), Marjan Snykers’ ethereal voice turns positively siren-like when layered into choral masses of celestial counterpoint. Her soaring vocal weaves turn the propulsive, bass-driven “A Kiss in a Lowland’s Meadow” into an almost-impossibly dreamy ride while sweeping material like “Love Hurdles” gloriously unfurls in a spirit of controlled euphoria. Interestingly, shoegaze remains the obvious touchstone but “A Taste Of” and “Broken” are graced by melodies that evoke The Smiths more than anything else. A Taste Of features no shortage of blissed-out material but perhaps no songs are more heavenly than the anthemic “Share My Ease,” “Silya,” and, yes, “Seaside Dream” which constitute as magnificent a sampling of dream-pop as you’re likely to hear in this lifetime. Especially magnificent, the Guthrie collab teleports Colour Kane into another stratosphere altogether for three-and-a-half minutes of pop perfection. The song is so great, it renders the Glorybox mix of “Too Late” that closes the album anti-climactic by comparison. |