BIO Influenced by Sri Aurobindo as much as J Dilla, Thomas Pynchon as much as Edgar Varese, Charles Bronson as much as Sun Ra, Adam Diiler occupies an enigmatic position in the realm between jazz, hip-hop, and electronic music.
Love records like this - $.99 Dreams snuck up out of nowhere, tugged on my ears and made me pay attention with nothing but pure high grade audio. I wasn't sure what to expect with the name and super-plain design, but this Brooklyn duo - whose aim is "to develop the area between hip-hop and free-jazz" - knocked this out the park. Whether you're in need of some clattering, rattling drone ("Thai Tony(1)"), chunky boom bap 'n' Moog ("Jack Murphy(2)"), or a skronky downtempo jernt ("Rockland Psych Ward(3)"), there'll be something here to pique your interest. My favorite might be the extra schmooove closer "Electro Egg(4)," on some true jazz chit. More, I say! 7 tracks total. Recommended. --turntable lab . . . damn if Diller doesn't rotate some unturned stones of the avant-garde, putting really twisted loops behind a bellering tenor that's got honest-t'-gawd gutbucket mud in it. --LA Weekly As much Sun Ra as dirty KMD samples circa Black Bastards filtered through some evil IDM tinkerers like Venetian Snares, $.99 Dreams use dank 90s beats as a tableau for nasty baritone sax solos and xylophone hooks. They also named a song after a loony bin in the county in New York that's home to Kurt Weill and a border with New Jersey. Maybe they were squatting there --impose Free powerful saxplaying with a strong stripped down rhythmic base by drums and electronics. An effective contrast. In tracks like 'Rockland Psych Ward' and 'Wagering Information' they produce very penetrating electronic sounds, which is surely a quality of this duo. . . because they keep things simple in a way, one cannot be confused about the point they are making. (DM) --vital weekly . . . Think Sun Ra meets Lord Finesse, with the score of a Kubrick movie thrown in for good measure --isthmus The album's title comes from a two-million gallon underground reservoir at a de-commissioned army base, in which the six untitled pieces here were recorded, and the acoustics of the space allow the group to create some truly amazing resonant sounds. I'd be wasting my time if I attempted to describe them, but I'll just say that Doublends Vert have created an incredibly haunting and beautiful album here. Certainly one of my favorite releases on Line, and probably something most fans of drone music would enjoy. --review of "cistern"
