Trust me #82 & 83
69 Police and Hey Lisa by David Holmes
David Holmes is DJ-ing in McChuills this Friday night ... and I'm not going! I was, but having been a little run down with a bug since last Thursday, I decided to sell my tickets - cost price naturally! At my age, going on a mad night out while not at 100% isn't a good idea!
Holmes is someone I have admired since my friend Reddy introduced me to his debut album This Film's Crap Lets Slash The Seats way back in 1995. Reddy also fell for the 1997 follow up Let's Get Killed which included snippets and samples of audio recordings Holmes made while walking around New York City. It was kind trippy and totally cool.
But it was Holmes 3rd album, Bow Down to the Exit Sign, released in 2000, before I truly fell for the Northern Irish DJ, electronic artist, producer and film composer.
Two song in particular stood out. 69 Police is flowing gem, layered beautifully to take listeners on a journey. The synth riff is utterly sublime. A couple of year ago I was fortunate to DJ in McChuills on a Sunday evening and this went down a treat.
The production is insane; the spoken word intro is turned up high in the mix, then the synth sounds and beats kick in, leading to the a glorious synth riff with lovely squelchy sounds interspersed. Holmes layers things and keeps it all going. I doubt that David will drop this into his set, but any regrets I have on Saturday night would be considerably multiplied if he did!
The dreamy atmospheric Hey Lisa closes the album to leave you floating, the mellow beats and swirling strings are absolutely gorgeous. Holmes works real magic here, layering guitars, string samples, synth riffs and bubbles, and what sounds like a xylophone ... weaving them in and out of each other beautifully.
Hey Lisa is a piece of music that never fails to move me. What a way to close the album, listen to the strings as the song ebbs towards the end. Majestic.
I've had the privilege of seeing Mr Holmes DJing at close quarters 3 times in the recent times and he's always been brilliant. Love both of those tunes too.
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