What does the band name The New Digital Sound (NDS) suggest? To
\nme, it sounds like a hardcore electronica band, proudly bearing the
\nlabel “Made In Europe,” consisting of two bald DJs (most likely
\nhardly able to speak English) and an occasional female singer from
\nthe UK, attempting to give the music an international appeal.<\/p>\n
Well, for one, NDS doesn’t hail from Europe; it is a product of
\nBoston, in America. But it is electronica, and it does consist of a
\n(not two, just one) DJ — Don Smith (also called Copelinn) — with
\nno female singers whatsoever. NDS is a part of the new sub-culture
\nof the American alternative music scene that is seeing a growing
\nnumber of bands embracing European techno\/electronica music.<\/p>\n
Copelinn describes his sound as closest to The Chemical Brothers
\nand Moby. I would however like to go further to say that his music,
\nin addition, sounds like listening to the soundtrack of the
\npsychedelic audio-narratives on “This American Life” on National
\nPublic Radio.<\/p>\n
To try making sense of the analogy, let me describe NDS’ music
\non
\nThe Depressed American Dream<\/i> (and, I wouldn’t be the least
\nsurprised if this title happened to be the name of an outtake that
\ndidn’t make it to Green Day’s
\nAmerican Idiot<\/i>).<\/p>\n
The album has absolutely no singing, but plenty of vocals. The
\nmusic is comprised of simple but subtly complex techno rhythms,
\nwith sampled speeches acting as the vocals. If vocal samples from
\nantiquated numbers on Play are what made Moby’s sound completely
\nfresh and ingenious, then the weird appearance of bits of speeches
\nand conversations — stolen from the radio and the television — on
\nthe numbers on
\nThe Depressed American Dream<\/i> act as a signature style for
\nNDS.<\/p>\n
The music on this 13-track LP is laidback and simplified
\nelectronica like that of Moby’s or the Protection era of Massive
\nAttack’s, but with a quirkier edge. The titles are quirky too —
\n“Exclude 17,” “Type Two Army Ants,” “Infection Crisis” — no less
\nthan the ones by Stereolab. The songs would have been boring
\nwithout the voices of all kinds that speak randomly about
\neverything, from space missions to the purchase of a hammer
\ndulcimer. Since every number is blessed with these voices, the
\nalbum makes for a very interesting listening experience.<\/p>\n
There is but one exception to the above. The song “Basement
\nAnalog Playset” has vocals that actually sing, presumably sung by
\nCopelinn himself. It does not have any speech samples, and has but
\nan electric guitar strummed angrily as music. It is a wonderful
\nanomaly to the album, and, considering that it is one of the best
\ntracks on the record, indicates that NDS is capable of more than
\njust being a band that fools around with mixing different sounds on
\na computer.<\/p>\n
Copelinn’s mixing of painstakingly discovered sound-bytes with
\nhis music has been done with near perfection: plagiarism couldn’t
\nsound better.
\nThe Depressed American Dream<\/i> is no longer than 39-odd
\nminutes. It flows as one whole song, passing through soundscapes of
\na soundtrack for human confessions captured off guard. NDS’ sound
\nis progressive and original; a “new digital sound” indeed.<\/p>\n