Floex, Tom Hodge, Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra – A Portrait Of John Doe (2018)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/44,1 kHz | Time – 49:52 minutes | 550 MB | Genre: Electronic
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Mercury KX
This story started in Berlin, but we swear, it doesn’t end in a nightclub… Rather in a symphonic concert hall, perfect to fully appreciate all the nuances of this album of breath-taking mastery. It’s the story of two Toms. The first, Dvorak, a.k.a. Floex, is a producer from Prague. The second, Hodge, is a British pianist and clarinettist, who also works with machines. Following a chance encounter in the German capital, Hodge started remixing Floex, and one thing leading to another, they decided to work on this ambitious project of combining their machines with the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra’s instruments. Despite having radically different values, classical and electronic music have, in recent years, had several occasions to meet, often with techno artists from Detroit: Derrick May and Francesco Tristano revisiting the founding hit song Strings of Life, Derrick May once again with the Macedonian Philharmonic Orchestra, Jeff Mills and the orchestras of Montpellier, Lille, Lyon, and most recently Toulouse, Carl Craig with the symphonic orchestra Les Siècles on the album Versus released by InFiné in 2017… If the latter is most likely the most refined example (let’s leave the unique Nils Frahm out of this), Floex and Tom Hodge’s album pushes the symbiosis between organic and synthetic even further, reaching an unparalleled level of detail, with ultra-refined structures. This Portrait of John Doe feels like a movie soundtrack (Tom Hodge composed McMafia for the BBC TV show and often works for ads and film trailers): the dreamlike Inauguration of Nobodyis reminiscent of Cliff Martinez’s work on the soundtrack of Solaris, but the most striking about this album is the ease with which piano and synthetic bass, percussions and rhythm box reply to each other and interlace, like on Wednesday (Is the New Friday), highlighting exceptional arrangements. Let’s wish good luck to anyone willing to take up the torch… – Smaël Bouaici
Tracklist:
1-01. Floex & Tom Hodge feat. Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra – Inauguration Of Nobody (06:18)
1-02. Floex & Tom Hodge feat. Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra – Wednesday (Is The New Friday) (05:41)
1-03. Floex & Tom Hodge feat. Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra – Machines Are Dancing (07:32)
1-04. Floex & Tom Hodge feat. Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra – John Doe Arise (04:58)
1-05. Floex & Tom Hodge feat. Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra – I Dream Of Ikaria (06:54)
1-06. Floex & Tom Hodge feat. Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra – Prelude I (06:10)
1-07. Floex & Tom Hodge feat. Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra – Prelude II (01:33)
1-08. Floex & Tom Hodge feat. Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra – Resurgence (04:28)
1-09. Floex & Tom Hodge feat. Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra – Requiem (06:14)
