San Fran Voice

I can’t help but wonder if bace135 is a Gemini. Like the Gemini, his music has two sides to it which seem like they would contradict one another but which actually fit well inside of a full personality. Maybe I’m biased by the double EP that I received – Monkey Vs. Robot and Man Vs. Machine. The first has a hint of hip hop but is primarily electronica / dance music. The second has some electronica but is primarily hip hop. And they both come together to create a complete musical set of electronic hip hop that captures the essence of Bay Area music.

Monkey Vs. Robot is emotive music. It’s the moody side of the personality, demanding attention with its insistent feelings. It’s the EP that encourages you to follow the music in order to push your own emotional boundaries. In contrast, Man Vs. Machine is the EP that’s more grounded, rooted in a solid hip hop foundation. It’s the urban breakdance, the physical experience of the music. Together, they give you both the emotional and the physical experience of the city.

The seven tracks that make up Monkey Vs. Robot remind me of lullabies. Like the lullaby, they can be haunting or they can be comforting. Which emotion is elicited may have more to do with your own experiences and the memories brought forth by the songs than with the music itself. This EP reminds me of the childlike side of the Gemini, the playful (but sometimes impetuous) nature of youth. It runs away and gets reigned in, it frolics in joy and it pouts in frustration. It has the melancholy as well as the optimism of the very young.

Man Vs. Machine is the adult side of the Gemini, the serious side that looks reality in the eye even when it might not want to. In these tracks, the child has been given a voice and is using it to describe his experiences in the world. My favorite track on this EP is “Sunshine Lemonade” (the recipe for this drink is provided inside the cover of the EP). It shows off the lighthearted side of hip hop, reminds me a little bit of the songs of summer that would play in videos on MTV when I was a kid. It merges the two sides of bace135 and brings them together in a fun, playful way.

Listen to the tracks or buy the album for yourself on bace135’s website or MySpace page.