Danny Byrd
Rave Digger

To be honest, this record has only the title of rave, the sound is so carefree and light that it is hard to imagine it as the soundtrack of a shaved, tattooed guy full of piercings who gets wrecked on pills in the filthy bathroom of an abandoned building in the open countryside, only to collapse among the rubble (because that's how raves are, right?).

However, "Ill Behaviour" could surely be the soundtrack of a nice little party that's a bit less TRUE but much more fun, like we all have a beer and a cocktail and then go crazy on these damn beats that really get to you, and quite a bit too, and then yes, we let ourselves go with a bobbing of the cabeza that follows the similar tunz-tunz of "Tonight" and why not? We join the super cheesy vocoder, a bit Daft Punk, a bit Eiffel 65, and we make the profound lyrics our own "TONIGHT IS GONNA BE THE NIGHT...WHEN THE MOON AND STARS AND THE STAGE ARE SHINING BRIIIIIIGHT!!!"

With "Hot Fuzz" things get more serious, ("one, two, one two three... DROP THE BEAT LIKE THIS!") and everyone dances wildly because you can't follow such a fast beat... but here comes a bit of caramelized piano (a trademark of good Danny) and then a sensational build-up... everyone jumps!!! "ONE, TWO, ONE TWO THREE...DROP THE BEAT LIKE THIS! HELL YES!!!" "We Can Have It All" once again prompts deep reflections in me ("dance to the beat till you hear the drop")... damn Danny if you're right! And so, yes, let's indulge in another bit of double-caramel piano... but this time no exuberant dances, we dance a bit moved... with our hand we embrace the cute girl (read: no one) closest to us and let ourselves be swept away by the romance. "Failsafe" and "Sweet Harmony" are more canonical drum'n'bass, Danny's sonic signature is there but there's a vague aura of seriousness that somewhat clashes with the previous tracks; luckily "Planet Earth" quickly arrives to satisfy my hunger for musical silliness, with that so playful synth that elicits a radiant smile from me, and especially with those "WOOH!" placed just right (it doesn't take much to fool me, I know).

"Wait For Me" and "Amen Alley" close what for me is a nice album of pure entertainment at 175 bpm, a party record as already said, a record probably with zero appeal for anyone above a certain age or not interested in dancing to an electronic beat. But young and carefree Debbasers, lend it an ear and let me know.