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Thes One/Herb Pilhofer - Lifestyle Marketing: Album Review |
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Written by Michelle Cavanaugh
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Producing the trippy hip-hop beats for San Francisco Bay area’s People Under The Stairs, like “Acid Raindrops” and “San Francisco Knights,” Thes One finally releases his solo debut album. Lifestyle Marketing is a beautiful unique double-disc instrumental package.
On the first disc Thes mixes in his own flavor to the commercial jingles of musical engineer and Grammy-award winner, Herb Pilhofer. A collection of the original compositions from Mr. Pilhofer’s Music That Works are on Disc Two.
Thes introduces each track with obvious influences from Mr. Pilhofer’s original tunes. In “Northwestern Bell” and “Target” the message mingles but the jingles spawn into a mystical melody, where the propaganda disappears. The powerful drum machine offers a soothing contrast against the broken-synthesized rhythms.
The signature sound of P.U.T.S. returns in tracks “Hy-Vee,” “GBX Malt Liquor,” and “Crystal Sugar.” Thes uses a wide musical palette, including the xylophone, tambourines, and the cello. The light, catchy melodies are meditative and refreshing.
Born in Germany, but raised in Minneapolis, Mr. Pilhofer has been the front man of numerous jazz ensembles, scored movies, and been a founder of the first digital recording studio in the United States. His real talent lies in his use of electronic instruments for commercial jingles.
The majority of the tracks on Disc Two prove that Mr. Pilhofer has an ear for the 70’s funkadelic vibe (think Shaft and Charlie’s Angels), as in “Pan-Am Suite,” “76 Trombones,” and “Montage ABC.” Others catch you off-guard, like the rock-a-billy ditty “Montage Cat” and the fiddle versus the electric guitar in “Mobius Flip.”
Whether a fan of People Under The Stairs, timeless commercials, or some mental relaxation, everyone will walk away with a little piece of inspiration after listening to Lifestyle Marketing.
Download: Both of these albums
To
purchase CDs, click on the cover art or title link. To legally
download, click on the iTunes logo. If you do not have iTunes, you can
download it here by clicking the "download iTunes" logo above.
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