Earlier this decade I was on a huge downtempo kick. I listened to a number of online radio stations at the time and many were only downtempo, ambient, trance electronic music. Zero 7 was played frequently and always stuck out to me. I finally bout "Simple Things" in 2002 or 2003 and listened to it incessantly at work. I'd have to say they are my favorite downtempo band, and "Simple Things" is my favorite album from the genre.
I know most people out there have probably never heard of downtempo. I get a lot of blank stares when I discuss the genre in public. I swear I am not making it up!
About musical genres found on TSotD…
I am not a huge fan of the way genres are usually used. A music genre is "a categorical and typological construct that identifies musical sounds as belonging to a particular category and type of music that can be distinguished from other types of music" as posted on Wikipedia. With that said, a single artist, or song may be classified into several genres at once, but the tendency for most people is to assign one category to each band and that is it. A single song even may have parts to it that sound like one genre, and other parts that sound like another. So it is not as simple as "Rock", "Pop", "Classical", "Jazz", etc. Many genres pull influences from multiple genres, especially today where we see artists pulling influences from all over the globe! Downtempo is a perfect example, pulling influence from "Jazz", "Funk", and "Ambient" genres.
Assigning genres can be very complex, and it is ALL SUBJECTIVE. Genres are just a web of opinions in an effort to classify music. Were I to notice similarities between artists A, B, and C, that no one has ever documented before I could recognize a new genre and write articles about it. If people started to use it then ta-da! New genre created. Alternatively if my (fictitious) band were to make a type of music different enough from everything else out there (and actually become popular enough that we get some name recognition and other bands to emulate our sound), we might create a new genre that way too. Or perhaps my band belongs in existing genres. Regardless it is subjective.
It is not black and white, but it is a useful tool for finding other music you may like otherwise I would ignore they exist entirely. For the purposes of this blog, I've been tagging each post with the musical genres related to the artist of the "song of the day" as posted on Wikipedia. Hopefully over time it will be a useful tool for finding other "song of the day" entries you may like if you hear a "song of the day" or bonus song that appeals to you and you want more by similar artists.
Anyway… *steps down from soap box* …so "downtempo". Check it out and start with "Zero 7", then maybe on to "Thievery Corporation"!
Click here for more info on Zero 7 – Simple Things – "Destiny".
The MP3 may be purchased here… Zero 7 - Simple Things
