Review: Jin Choi – A Thousand Whales Of Love (Private Gold)

Label. Private Gold
Artist. Jin Choi
Title. A Thousand Whales Of Love
Cat number.
Release date: 18.05.2012
Web: http://www.privategoldmusic.com

Agency: pullproxy

Jin Choi is a musician, producer, DJ and live artist based in Berlin, Germany. In his music he equally focuses on groove and melodic structures, which are based on Techno, House, Soul and Dub. The music fuses electronic and naturalistic sounds, which are twisted, bended and whirled for an always bubbling and breathing rhythmic experience. Functionality does not stand in the spotlight of his tracks – his music is supposed to touch emotionally and to move the head and the body as well. – pullproxy

I know Jin as one of the most skilled, talented and personally very friendly artist, and this review is overdue since last spring, when it was released, because the title track was one of my favourite tunes of spring 2012.

The album review was planned more than half a year ago (I received the promo by the agency in April 2012) and one of my former editors was about to write it, as he was a huge fan. He never did, because suddenly he disappeared, focusing on his career as a DJ – and it got lost.

November 9^th is Jin Choi’s birthday – remembering the amazing birthday party with his family and friends last year at katerholzig, I took some time to finally (!) realize the plan to write a review.

So, here it is, HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JIN!!

Tracklist

01 Don’t Look Inside

02 Godspeed Soul

03 She’s Got Gold

04 A Thousand Whales Of Love

05 The Hour Glass

06 Amber & Gold

07 Brother Ash, Sister Dust

08 There Must Be Ways

09 Love & Soil

10 Solstice

11 In The Dark

12 Circles Inhale Mix (Digital Bonus)

13 Stealing Gold (Digital Bonus)

14 Circles Exhale Mix (Digital Bonus)

Kind of a Track by Track Review

The album starts with the mechanical-sound cluster 01 Don’t Look Inside, mixing with a synthetic female voice that reminds me of robots. With the noises rather than beats in the background, a dropping synth melody starts, giving the track an Asian feel – and then horns set in. A calm sound experiment that is an interesting piece of musical experience. For sophisticated music lovers!

The second track 02 Godspeed Soul suddenly drives the beats up and is a very nice dance track – picking up the Asian elements of the first track and adding another pitched up vocal. I am not a fan of that kind of vocals as they remind me of Donald Duck, but in this track, it kinda works.

03 She’s Got Gold is another fast track, sampling a vocal part of Mayer Hawthorne (I guess) – jazzy elements, and it is not until the second half that the minimalistic track gets more elements and a quite fun groove.

Coming to 04 A Thousand Whales Of Love, that gave the album its title, you are cataputed into a calmer, deeper and dreamy atmosphere. The beautiful piano chords, the arrangements of all other elements make this track to a wonderful slow electronic pop-song, the later added female vocal humming along the base track is carrying you into a fantastic world full of wonders. AMAZING work.

The track 05 The Hour Glass I would say ist he first house-house track on the album, will work on every floor, at any time – if you like your house music set being spiced up by a light but powerful and quite melodic track! I just say: Dance!

06 Amber & Gold is not my favourite track on the album – too many elements taken from the other tracks on the album – a nice piano line all the way through it, but I cannot get used to the vocals. I got the feeling this is too much of everything.

In my opinion, 07 Brother Ash, Sister Dust is a perfect dance track to play when you see the sun going up at katerholzig in the summer –  it is playful and will make your audience embracing a powerful new day.

08 There Must Be Ways is taking you on a calm journey to sandy beaches at the sea. Here, Jin Choi plays a lot with melodic structures, sounds and leaves out heavy basslines and works without percussions. A very romantic, soft and dreamy track.

09 Love & Soil is another danceable track that reminds of summer, sun and warm breezes. The fast tempo and light melody, emphasized with 4/4 claps and playful vocal arrangements is a happy mood maker on every dancefloor and a pleasure to hear.

Another quite minimalistic beginning but soon developing into a jazzy track is 10 Solstice. The vocals are beautiful and it is possible to dance rumba and chachacha to it – I tried it out haha ;)

The official last track of the album 11 In The Dark mixes traditional piano chords with the mecahnical sounds of the beginning of the album and is another sound combination that is more sophisticated than the usual house tracks currently on the market. A very nice album closing.

The tree bonus tracks on the digital album: 12 Circles Inhale Mix (Digital Bonus),  13 Stealing Gold (Digital Bonus), 14 Circles Exhale Mix (Digital Bonus) – I would say buy the relase and check it out – I do not want to reveal too much, but the bonus tracks alone would make up another very nice EP ;)

Comment

The album format, in the world of Electronic Dance Music is most often a self-defeating gesture. There is, traditionally, little need for a long-players worth of club bangers and too often artists who try their hands awkwardly at variation and deeper meaning find they have too little experience and come up short, or even empty. Not so with JIN CHOI’s A THOUSAND WHALES OF LOVE. A true artist album, where the artist has so much to communicate that it didn’t even fit on a single CD. All told, 14 songs of emotion using the dance music idiom, but meaning much more. CHOI’s previous work with ARCHIPEL, LESSIZMORE, CONTEXTERRIOR and his own PRIVATE GOLD imprint have brought this subtle yet forceful sound into a view, but with WHALES there has been extra care afforded to create a vivid multicolored and multifaceted sonic picture for the public to enjoy in places other than just the dancefloor. The album encompasses such disparate genre influences as ambient soundscapes (album opener DON’T LOOK INSIDE), 60s soul (SHE’S GOT GOLD), 80s neon disco soundtracks (eponymous cut A THOUSAND WHALES OF LOVE), smoky and moody blue-note jazz (CIRCLES-DARK MIX), and his often played with tough yet subtle minimalist (but not minimal) house excursions. Truth be told, to pick just a few songs to highlight the album would be a fallacy, as they all fit together into a larger whole. A THOUSAND WHALES OF LOVE is an album that says so much without saying it through a bullhorn. Full of shrouded emotion teased out of detail, in unlikely forms and places. A treatise on a subject that must be close to the artist’s heart but is left up to interpretation by the listener. Nothing is forced, but a lot is gained. My interpretation: that one can hear the events lived in JIN’s life over the time since he moved to bustling Berlin and changes were abound. At times melancholic and at times hopeful, at times subdued and at times ecstatic. A THOUSAND WHALES OF LOVE is a proper album by a proper artist. Drink it in. – pullproxy

Opinion

“a timeless album that is a must-have in your collection“

A Thousand Whales of Love is pure poetry. The artwork, the title names, the arrangement of tracks… You wonder how this guy, who has a full-time job managed to produce such a sophisticated, delicate in detail and technically pretty up to the highest standards-album.

You cannot play all tracks on the dancefloor, but definitely at private parties. The slower tracks are very much enjoyable and will add quality to your private playlists.

All tracks are productions of an effort to bring futuristic sounds and traditional track elements together – and Jin Choi succeded to create an album that is delicately made and pure pleasure to listen to.

All in all, a timeless album that is a must-have in your collection.