It's Good To Be Differ-Ent - DJ Bone (Don't Be Afraid)

Title: It’s Good To Be Differ-Ent

Artist: DJ Bone

Label: Don’t Be Afraid

Cat Number: DBALP002

Genre: Techno

A1: Inhabit Tense

A2: Marvel Less

B1: Met Allergic Flew Antsy

B2: Compute Her

C1: Drum Addict

C2: We Have U Surrounded

D1: Motive Hate Shun

D2: Fasten 8 Shun

E1: Gem In Eyes (feat. DJ Bone)

E2: A Calm Bliss

F1: Laser Eyes
F2: I M Differ-ent

DJ Bone and his Differ-Ent alias go head to head on this, his first album since ‘Out of Knowhere’ in 2007. It’s a piece of work which, if we take it literally, sees the funk of DJ Bone in collision with Differ-Ent’s darkness. The tracks are extremely well produced and are as cohesive an album as the genre is likely to produce, taking into account the overriding focus on dancing. Bone adds something extra to his productions which is noticeable, but still in the ether. Predictably, most of the pieces here are what you would expect them to be, no nonsense floor-based techno, but they have another dimension which gives them a subtle edge. The electro present, ‘Compute Her’, ‘Motive Hate Shun’ and ‘I M Differ-Ent’ is excellent, particularly the last track, coming off the back of two largely ambient, beatless compositions, rounding off the melancholic tone previously set. The bittersweet atmosphere is also evident on ‘Fasten 8 Shun’, ‘Gem In Eyes’ and ‘Drum Addict’. This is something that Bone is particularly good at; the ability to create light from darkness, and vice versa, in broad, cinematic sweeps.