Damage

Kosheen: dance music hope

Dance music remains one of the most popular phenomenons in the world of entertainment, and this is quite natural. It is understandable, it is accessible and above all it satisfies the basic need that the music is supposed to satisfy – dancing, better than anything else. Dancing and music inseparably exist, interact and modify each other during the entire history staying a sort of engine for a development of more complex forms of music arts. Today, when audio diversity is almost devoid of boarders, dance music is a genre, which equally exists among other ones. Just like all the rest it develops, grows and shifts to new forms. From time to time it sets new fission (remember disco music) or gives birth to separate stars, but still its main course strives to novelty and something highly artistic. Nowadays it may seem that all the branches that dance music tree has grown can't blossom as lush as they used to, but this is delusion, the tree just needs good waters. Electronic boom of last decade has somehow eased down but its legacy shows a nice outlook. A British trio Kosheen is a bright, unconventional representative of modern electronic bands. Trip-hop and drum'n'bass in their interpretation take risk to achieve mass popularity and actually give birth to a new phenomenon in dance music genre.                                

Kosheen can't stand boring ideas

Name Kosheen is composed of two Japanese words – "Ko", which means "old" and "Sheen" that stands for "new". Set up in 1999 the band began experimenting with beats and samples adding elements of rock in their music. Their first album of 2001 gained a wide popularity in UK and Australia. And though the core of this release was drum'n'bass, the album was full of strong vocal parties and diverse melodies nevertheless. The second Kosheen's album Kokopelli has led musicians to rock music field – electronic arrangements were still a main element but the majority of represented tracks were based on guitar driven songs written by Kosheen's singer Sian Evans. Now, three years after, Kosheen recorded their new and third creation called Damage, demonstrating their outstanding musical way of thinking again. The album is advancement in the band's brand sound but it rarely repeats the ideas performed on their previous albums. Damage sounds integral, professional and interesting. There are neither musical nor lyrical mediocrities – besides its audio advantages the songs carry strong massages. The album's single is a great, mid tempo, dance track called Overkill, which features perfect vocals and a peculiar technocratic atmosphere. However, a place of the album's leading song could be occupied by many other tracks: Damage, Same Ground Again, Thief. The material is sufficiently diverse, it varies form tuneful electro pop of Like A Book to eerie trip hop atmosphere of Your Life. Somehow, Kosheen manage to keep their sound without going too far into influences of styles they mix.             

Collection of electronic rock songs

Kosheen were always making a unique music and Damage continues this tradition. It combines a chill of electronic, a mystic trip hop atmosphere and openheartedness for pop-rock. The songs' structure is simple but at the same time it offers the inevitable twists. Rich arrangements that use not only artificial samples mellow vocal melodies perfectly. Damage is a collection of electronic rock songs, not just a multi-sample beat kit. Each track has its own mood, its own massage and its own memorable riffs. Actually this album can join a separated camp of Kosheen's fans – those who loved their debut drum'n'bass/ trip hop album and those who like the band for their guitar driven Kokopelli. The album managed to combine the main godsends of former records and to crystallize Kosheen style even more. Damage will be interesting for those whose musical tastes are spread further than five or six bands of the same genre. This is a great release, everyone who loves music should have it in his collection.