Review Summary: A good attempt at creating a soundtrack to an imaginary dystopian movie.
Ok, so the artist name can sound a bit corny, but it was obviously attractive enough for two guys dabbling in electronics to pick it up. One in Maryland, doing more pop oriented stuff, and John Robbins from Austin Texas, a more dubstep/beat/hip-hop oriented Run DMT. That’s the guy we’re talking about and his new, third solo album Revolutionaire. And if you’re wondering which one of the two did the remix of Major Lazer’s “Jah No Partial”, The Who’s “Who Are You?” Diplo’s “Revolution” and had his “Baraka’s Theme” included in the “Mortal Combat” video game soundtrack, this is the one.
Although John has been on the scene since 2010, Revolutionaire is only the third solo Run DMT album, since he was and still is, along with remixes and production, busy with other musical projects, like his “Kill Your Ego Network” project. Looking through the list of collaborators like Jacq, Kant Turner and the legendary reggae man Barrington Leavy, even for those less initiated it becomes obvious that Run DMT has already made a name in the music circles. Listening to the album can give you an indication why.
Based on an idea that sounds like a dystopian novel/movie with a possible happy ending Run DMT runs the the game of dark-tinged soundscapes akin to Burial, RZA’s soundtrack for Jim Jarmusch's “Ghost Dog” movie, and if you want rock comparisons, a full-tilt electronic version of Radiohead’s OK Computer, with real dubs to take along. The idea that permeates the album is a movie-like story of a fictional city on a brink of a destruction where positive forces spring up to free the minds of its inhabitants. In essence, organizing all our frustrations into something that can instigate a positive change.
From the opening “The Fall of Latimer City”, through the title track and “Analogue Noir” and Rhythm Runners” (personal highlights here) to the closing “Jellyfish (Aidens Song), a dark, doomsday-like atmosphere permeates, like those stark images that run in front of your eyes while you are watching the original “Blade Runner” movie. Run DMT’s rhythms here are starker and pronounced that those of, for example, Burial, but they do create a similar atmosphere characteristic of good dubstep albums.
Most of all, the album works well as a unified whole, there are no throwaway tracks or jarring excursions to break the atmosphere Run DMT is trying to create here and he is fully able to create the image of a social environment saved by the positive will. A very interesting and satisfying album.
