HONEYROOT

Sound Echo Location

Just Music (2004)

review by Dene Bebbington

Honeyroot is a collaboration of Glenn Gregory and Keith Lowndes. Both have been involved in electronica over the years - Glenn is the frontman for the group Heaven 17 (a well known British group) and has worked with well known groups/artists, and Keith has also worked with famous artists. The duo have been working together for several years writing and producing for other artists, plus they have added another feather to their cap in the form of TV scoring. These guys obviously have the history to show that they are talented, so it comes as no surprise to discover that Sound Echo Location is a very good album.

The music is primarily in the form of chilled out grooves and rhythms with some occasional ambient passages. On all tracks there are also vocals, mainly singing minimal lyrics but on a couple of tracks they're the wordless kind. A variety of instrumentation is used in the performance, from acoustics like guitar and piano to unabashed electronica.

Several pieces inhabit pop and dance music territory where the pace picks right up. In "Sweet and Honey" beats and rhythm keep the piece moving while a sassy female vocal sings some minimal lyrics. Sometimes this kind of energetic music is oddly juxtaposed with ambience that should have been taken further and explored separately. The track "Blue Space" is a good example of this, starting and finishing with string and reverbing synths laying down a sense of grandeur the middle is upbeat rhythms and melodies with the kind of treated vocals that makes it sound like dance club music.

My favourite track on the album is the most atypical. "Falling" begins with droning synth lines and then is joined by a female vocalist singing about "falling in love with you"; her voice -- like the male voice that follows -- has a slightly distant and tinny quality. A piano (sounds like an electric one) plays a whimsical melody all the while then part way through a male voice takes over the lyrics. The piece comes to a close with the great synth lines heard at the start and both the singers intimately singing to each other.

The presence of lyrics on Sound Echo Location may not appeal to everyone. Musically this is a great album though, it's the kind of music that would be ideally suited to a relaxed drive on open roads when the sun is out. Definitely recommended.