You may have noticed Hybrid in Blake’s top myspace friends and wondered about them. Well, wonder no more! This Welsh duo is made up of Mike Truman and Chris Healings, and they’ve been creating music together since the early 1990s. Imagine an orchestra playing alongside DJs at a rave, and you’ll have a pretty good idea of Hybrid’s sound!
I began work on this feature by downloading Hybrid’s 2006 release I Choose Noise (available on iTunes) and as I listened, I could imagine it being used as a soundtrack for some futuristic sci-fi movie. As I researched the band further, it was really no surprise to discover that Mike and Chris are often inspired by film scores. In fact, they’ve even worked on a few, most notably Ridley Scott’s Kingdom Of Heaven.
It’s a little difficult to recommend specific tracks from I Choose Noise to listen to, because I think the album is best experienced as a whole. The songs flow seamlessly together, taking the listener on a musical journey that’s sometimes manic, and sometimes serene. (Fun fact: the symphony you hear playing throughout the album is from Seattle!) On Hybrid’s myspace, you can listen to “Dogstar” which features vocals from Perry Farrell of Jane’s Addiction.
Watch a brief interview in which Mike and Chris talk about their latest effort after the jump!
In addition to I Choose Noise, Hybrid has two other studio albums: Wide Angle (1999) and Morning Sci-Fi (2003). Both are available on Amazon and iTunes. It’s also worth mentioning that Hybrid have done numerous remixes for artists ranging from Radiohead to BT to Alanis Morissette. Could a Bshorty remix be in their future?
Honestly, I’ve never really listened to a lot of electronic music (outside of the more mainstream acts like Fatboy Slim, The Prodigy, and Moby) but I’ve liked what I’ve heard of Hybrid so far. If you’re like me and you’re looking for something different to feed your iPod, give Hybrid a chance!
Interesting, Star. I liked what I heard on myspace, so I will download their album. “I Choose Noise” eh? Sounds familiar. ;-)
I believe BT has done quite a few film scores, as well.
Hee.
I noticed Blake mentions Hybrid in his little “thank you” paragraph in the AI tour program.
Thanks star! :) So are there many vocals outside of Dogstar? The snippets I heard on iTunes did not include vocals.
I love Hybrid! its very cool! i bought a single off itunes!
Okay, I would probably mod this comment for being off topic, but I gotta say to Roll Tide… woo hoo! Go Bama. :)
Heee! That was pretty awesome, huh? :) I sent you a message on the team plaid myspace b/c I didn’t have your personal one. My apologies to star, whose eyes were probably blinded by it. :)
There’s a few tracks that have vocals, but most are instrumental only. These are the other songs with vocals on I Choose Noise:
Falling Down (feat. Judy Tzuke)
Choke (feat. John Graham)
Until Tomorrow (feat. John Graham)
Just For Today (feat. Kirsty Hawkshaw)
I don’t know who they are…but there you go! :P
Their first album Wide Angle apparently features a lot of vocals by Julee Cruise who sang the theme song to Twin Peaks.
Another recommendation…this isn’t a track on I Choose Noise but it’s one that I downloaded and thought was pretty: Finished Symphony