The pairing of a funk musician (Dan) and a techno DJ (
Massimo) results in the impressive
Form Freaks, an electronic mishmash that moves from rare groove to big beat to techno to hip-hop with less static than listeners might expect. The duo's reliance on vintage keyboards and synth gives a decidedly retro feel to the proceedings, similar to
Air, but with more of a sense of where electronic music's going than where it's been. Twisting from vocal tunes ("Bird," with Harriet Scott) to turntablist hip-hop ("Gotta Learn") to cut-and-paste jazz-funk (the club hit "Quake"),
Danmass does a little bit of everything, and does it all with uniform excellence. ~ John Bush