Various Artists - Burial of Baron / I Ask You / Mars

I got a bit of an odd request from the label owner at Venator Music, and that was to cover these three singles in one review. Never one to put down a challenge, and always willing to try something new, I figured, eh, why not, let's get it done. And, so, I present to you three different singles brought to you by Al Defender, Nearq, and Donor.

I first present to you Al Defender's Burial of Baron. This song was actually inspired by the video game, Thief. I haven't ever played any of the games in the franchise, so I'm none too sure if it can actually represent the series well enough, but the song is pretty neat. It mixes classical elements with choral samplings with modern day guitar and electronic work. I most appreciate the song when all these sounds come together, from the drum and bass, to the classical sounds, to the somewhat wobbly effects found here and there.

Donor's dubstep flavored I Ask You starts off fairly quiet with a decent little beat flowing through it. A sample keeps reading over, "I ask you,", and the dubstep really kicks in around the one minute and ten second mark. It has its quiet moments, that last not for too long before slamming back in with more dubstep. It was an alright song, but the dubstep wasn't anything absolutely mind bending.

Lastly came along Nearq's Mars. Slow moving and having a nice background noise to it, like that of water running, every prick of sound that persisted in the song really held over nicely. There were a few wobbles here and there, but this song really held true to its title, and should I ever catch myself staring at Mars, I think this song would do nicely to fit the view.

And, so, those are the three singles and the artists attached with them. If this is to showcase the talent that VM has to offer in the future, then this might be a label that you'll want to watch out for. The instrumentals showcased here weren't bad by far, and I want to see more. Jun 29 2014