10 years ago, the electronic music group Hybrid released their first studio album, Wide Angle. Wide Angle had an unprecedented sound that brought a cinematic quality to electronica. The album carried the tone and flow of an epic experience and ended with one of their most celebrated tracks of all time: Finished Symphony.
Wide Angle definitely set a trend among producers and music makers, who begin adding a little cinematic flair to some of their music.
In 2003, Hybrid took a slightly different musical approach with their second album, Morning Sci Fi. They added a base guitarist, and lead guitarist/singer. They tried to distance themselves from their electronica roots and bring a more diversified set of sounds to their music. Morning Sci Fi definitely still kept many of the cinematic tones they established in Wide Angle. But they definitely led their songs heavy on the Guitar.
I actually saw them when the toured for Morning Sci Fi! Man, I was so happy. On November 14th, 2003, I completed one of my life goals at the Fine Line Music Cafe in Minneapolis: Photos! My friend at the time, Stu, got his synth signed, and I got some Vinyl Mats signed!
It doesn't have Chris Healings signature, though :/
Unfortunately, a few years after that I became too busy finishing school, working, going to Japan, and being depressed after Japan that I missed out on their third album... until now!
In Late 2006, Hybrid released their third studio album, I Choose Noise. It fetches a pretty high price on the Internet, actually. Prices on Half.com are in the $125 range for new, $77 range for very good used. Which is ridiculous! Of course, who buys CDs these days, right? You can download the entire album from Amazon for a mere $9. Screw those annoying collectors.
I Choose Noise leaves the band behind from Morning Sci Fi and continues the electronic cinematic experience. It feels like a true sequel to Wide Angle, but still learns from the sharp crisp sounds in Morning Sci Fi. It brings both techniques together to form an absolute masterpiece. It feels really odd that I skipped over this album for the past 3 years.
I know I'm a little late to the party of this one, but definitely check out I Choose Noise. Also, check out their previous two albums if you missed 'em. I Love Hybrid. ^_^
After touring for I Choose Noise, Hybrid has been working on their next album. They blogged about it last month on Distictive's website. Seems like what they original had last year didn't sit well with them.
But it sounds like they're back on track with something fantastic that should starting seeing the light of day around October 2009. Here's hoping!
Update: How embarrassing, I totally spelled Hybrid incorrectly in the title. It's fixed now.