Freeland

Who knew Adam Freeland had a band together performing music? I didn’t… and I’m a huge Adam Freeland fan when it comes to the Nu Skool breakbeat genre within electronic music. Putting out several huge tracks, most recognized being We Want Your Soul, and starting up Marine Parade Records, which is amongst the biggest in the breakbeat music industry today. But an actual band? Yeah… Right when I caught word of Freeland coming to town, I pulled up the music video for Do You online to check out the sound. I really liked it, so got myself a copy of their soon to be released album at the time, Cope. I wanted to try and familiarize myself with Freeland as much as possible before seeing them live, because I always find it’s more enjoyable when I have something to latch on to with the songs bands perform in their shows. In addition to being extremely lucky with getting a copy of their album ahead of time, I was also able to get an interview set up with the band. I had only seen pictures of Adam Freeland, and hadn’t ever been lucky enough to see him DJ a live set anywhere, so of course this was a big deal.

Following an interview with the band, and getting an idea of what they are all about, I was able to listen to the opening set being mixed by Alex Metric. Brilliant DJ, and knowing that he co-produced Cope, I definitely hear the influence he had on the album’s production. His set was the kind of music that I wish one could get a hold of in order to listen at home, or in my car. Somehow it always seems that the best DJ sets are always performed live however.

Freeland finally took the stage for this late concert at the Rock & Roll Hotel. This was my first experience in seeing a show at this venue. The venue was small… just the right size for an intimate concert, stage barely raised above the height of the crowd, and just enough stage room for the band to closely assemble for their presentation. On stage for the live performance was just Adam Freeland, Kurt Baumann, and Hayden Scott. The crowd seemed as though it was not much larger than the size of the band. Though my counting could have been off, it seemed like there were only about two dozen in attendance for this special show, kicking off Freeland’s first tour for their album, Cope.

Of course having spent the previous couple days listening to Cope, enjoying the songs that are on the album, it was a bit different hearing them live. This was not a bad different, but rather a raw-this is the real deal-different. It would be silly to think that the tight production of a studio recorded album would carry over into a live setting with a group like this, and that is something that just has to be understood when seeing Freeland perform live. This didn’t however take away from the energy that was put into the music while the trio was performing. And given the circumstances of an incredibly small crowd for a name like Freeland, I am still impressed with the energy and enthusiasm that was invested to entertain even the smallest of crowds.

Did Freeland perform to the expectations I had set by listening to their album? Probably not… but had the album just been performed as recorded with little variation, I would have to say that I probably would have been disappointed. Instead, Freeland performed a brilliant but raw mix of rock and electronic music in an incredibly intimate setting that few of us in the DC area were able to share. In closing of the concert, I couldn’t help but overhear a fellow in the crowd going off on a rant saying “Freeland is performing down here…and there are people sitting upstairs listening to a juke box. Do they not understand what they just missed? Freeland is here, playing a concert for us, do people in DC not know what they missed?” In some other situation I would probably be annoyed with this fellow, spouting off rants as if he knew what he was talking about… but this time, I couldn’t agree more. I don’t think those bar patrons upstairs, or those in the DC area knew what they were missing, and it is a shame, because Freeland rocked the Rock & Roll Hotel that night. Speaking as one of the few who did experience it, I’ll be glad to know that I was part of the small beginnings of what Freeland has the potential to become. That being the production of a ridiculous show to the likeness of being the Pink Floyd of electronic music, as Adam Freeland stated in the pre-concert interview. - http://209.85.229.132/search?q=cache:xQRNJEOeKN8J:www.indierockreviews.com/Hot-Show-Reviews/freeland

Freeland has a word in the lead up to Get Loaded...

What have we rudely disturbed you from in order to do this interview?!
Its 3.55 am and my manager just called me to tell me I had to have this in NOW! So a good night’s sleep!

You’re just about to release your new artist album ‘Cope’, your first in six years. What can we expect from the album?
It’s a mash of my influences from shoegaze indie rock to bas ass electronic dancefloorness. A shoegaze Dance party if you will.

Why has it taken six years to release your new album? Was this a harder/longer album to produce? Or have you been busy with other projects in the meantime?
Just been crazy busy being a touring artist really. Got married, got unmarried, had a few hiccups along the way, wrote the album twice. Ya know, the usual artist story.

What’s your favourite tune off the album?
It varies a lot. 'Mancry' perhaps.

Tell us about the live set up?
Its Kurt Baumann our front man on vocals and bass guitar, Hayden Scott on drums (who hits so hard it’s been said he’s like John Bonham re incarnated) and me doing keyboards, FX, computer stuff and some vocals.

How did you first get into Djing?
How old were you when you started out? I was 18 and I’d just moved to London to be a student. We were clubbing every night and my flat mate had decks and I just got hooked on it.

What did you DJ back then? Who were your early influences? And now?
I played a mixture of deep US house to hip house and electro (what was then electro/real electro).

Your remix of Sarah Vaughan’s ‘Fever’ was nominated for a Grammy and your personally requested mix of The Doors ‘Hello, I Love You’ has received critical acclaim. What’s been your proudest achievement to date?
I just did a remix for Queen which I'm pretty stoked about. But I think this album Cope is by far my most accomplished work.

You run your own record label Marine Parade. How’s it all going?
Good, we have a stronger release schedule than we have ever had. Our boy Alex Metric is really blowing up, the Evil Nine album has been well received and they’ve been busy touring with the live band and there’s a great buzz around this dubstep/electronica act we just signed from California called 'Panty Raid'. They are sick!

Was it tricky when everything went ‘digital’?
Yeah, it's tricky trying to make it work on a business level now that most people don’t want to pay for music. We sell pretty well on Beatport and iTunes etc but I have expensive taste and always spend a lot on artwork etc. So it’s not easy.

How do you decide which tunes you’ll sign up to the label?
I just have to love it. I don't like disposable music which I find a lot of electronic music is. There's too much pollution in the world I want to contribute ART! So I’m always trying to sign acts who have long term vision and produce quality music that works beyond just the dancefloor and will stand the test of time. Really tight production is very important to me too.

Are you/the label still based in Brighton?
I live between Los Angeles and Brighton. But the label is run out of Bristol as that’s where my management team are.

Are you a supporter of the mighty Brighton & Hove Albion like a certain Mr Fatboy Slim?!
To be honest . I'm one of the few Brits who really couldn't give a fark about supporting a football team. I love the game but just don’t buy into the hysteria.

Do you constantly juggle between label boss, DJ, producer, remixer on a day-to-day basis, or do you think... right I’ll do a bit of label stuff for a few weeks, then go a tour with the band for a month and so on?!! How do you find the time to do it all...?
It’s a 24/7 juggle! Blackberry’s n’ laptops help but I don't know if I do find time to do it all. I have good (patient!) people around me who help a lot.

You’ve remixed so many songs over the years, are there any tunes around at the moment you’d like to remix?
There a few tracks on the Yeah Yeah Yeah’s record that I've been meaning to remix.

And is there anyone in particular who you’d like to do a collaboration with?
I’d love to work with Bat for Lashes, Josh Homme, Kevin Shields. And more stuff with Nick Cave. I did one mix for him (No Pussy Blues), but met him the other day and just itching to do more stuff with him.

You’ve got a pretty hectic schedule over the summer playing at various festivals including our very own Get Loaded in the park. What do you most enjoy about playing at a UK festival?
I think the UK audience is very knowledgeable about music and always up for getting a bit crazy.

Are you looking forward to getting loaded with us?
Very much. Loved it last time. Excited to unleash our new live band there.

Which do you prefer, playing on an open air stage or in a dark sweaty tent?
Dark sweaty tents!

Favourite festival drink and snack?
A hip flask of fine quality Tequila and a good wholesome pie.

What’s next for Freeland?
A summer of festie tours, a tour with Spinnerette, ju - http://www.gigjunkie.net/blog/post/2009/07/30/Freeland-Interview-as-Get-Loaded-Gets-Closer.aspx

Freeland: Cope™
[Marine Parade]

I have been following Adam Freeland closely for a number of years now. He was traditionally known as a breakbeat producer and deejay. After going off the grid for a while, he resurfaced last year with a new EP and a Global Underground mix album. Judging by his new songs and the song choices on GU32: Mexico City, Adam Freeland had apparently switched over from breakbeats to a more electro style of music. Even when he was a breakbeat producer, however, he was still broader in his musical style than, say, Plump DJs.

One of the first things about Adam Freeland that caught my attention was his ability to take songs which were not electronic and remix them into something danceable without a) making it suck; or b) sacrificing the essence of the original song (which, when you are crossing genres, can be a difficult feat). This list includes “Seven Nation Army”, “Smells Like Teen Spirit” and the Grammy-nominated remix of Sarah Vaughn’s “Fever”. Most recently, in the above-mentioned Essential Mix set, Adam Freeland played a bootleg remix of Grinderman’s “No Pussy Blues”. Eventually this remix made it to Grinderman lead singer Nick Cave (yeah, that Nick Cave) who liked it so much he asked Adam Freeland to do a formal remix for the single.

Freeland is Adam Freeland’s band, of which Adam Freeland is apparently the only actual permanent member (though it appears that he would like to keep new lead singer Kurt Baumann). I say “apparently” because this is only Freeland’s second outing, so it is difficult to chart any sort of trend. Cope™ includes the non-electronic talents of Tommy Lee, Twiggy Ramirez and Joey Santiago. You read that right: this album features musicians from Motley Crue, Marilyn Manson and The Pixies.

Adam Freeland’s solo work and Freeland’s work are quite distinct. The differences are quite prominent as the only song that comes close to sounding like The Hate EP (Adam Freeland’s last release) is “Strange Things”. Much like Freeland’s first album Now and Them, Cope™ bears little resemblance to Adam Freeland’s more esoteric dance tracks. That said, Now and Them and Cope™ bear little resemblance to each other.

Adam Freeland puts much emphasis on his collaborators. I already noted the song “Mancry” in a previous entry as being a standout track on the album, not just thanks to the centerpiece of Tommy Lee’s drum talents. It takes a song that initially sounds like M83 and perfects it thanks to Tommy Lee’s very human yet very impressive drum talents. I am not a Motley Crue fan myself, so I never knew the depth of Tommy Lee’s talent until hearing Cope™, but I must admit that I have a newfound respect for him. The other collaborators also do well, each standing out in their own way. Given the pace and depth of the songs, however, it is easy to miss the great contributions they have made here.

Cope™ as an album is actually a bit disjointed. The first track, “Do Ya” sounds out of place, likely because it was produced long before any of the other tracks were, or before anybody else was brought on board. The slower songs, “Mancry” and “Silent Speaking”, while good, also sound quite out of place. There isn’t a lot of flow, but rather a lot of songs grouped together.

“Only A Fool” is, to be sure, the climax of the album as it features everyone going balls-out crazy. The structure of the song is pure Freeland: pulsing bass and steady beats. Freeland adds great guitar, great synths and, as a cherry on top, vocals from Gerry, the lead singer of Devo (!). There’s something raw about this song that I love.

I would be amiss if I didn’t mention the politics of Mr. Freeland. Unlike the vast majority of electronic music, which is politically sterile, Adam Freeland has never been one to shy away from topics beyond tonight’s party. Now & Them was an interesting album encompassing many different concepts including consumerism and spirituality. Cope™ is not completely politically sterile (see “Under Control” and “Strange Things”), but given the times in which we exist, I expected a more politically charged and possibly indignant spin on the album. Even the title of the album itself and the cover is suggestive of a desperate consumer-based, government-oppressed society being fed panacea from above by a very large controlling hand. The politics do not run throughout the album, however, and I think that they are missed.

Overall, Cope™ is an original album, there is nothing out there that sounds like this. The consequence of having these collaborators is that Cope™ is more rock album than electronic album, and that is the point. Nowhere is more evident than in the more energized (and, somehow more sexualized) cover of David Essex’s “Rock On”. While the energy of Adam Freeland is tempered by his collaborators, the sounds and beats still have a way of getting under your skin. Still, Adam Freeland’s abilities go beyond this album and I don’t think that we are witnessing him at his - http://www.pajiba.com/music/freeland-cope-review.php

“I wanted to make more than just another artist project. I always saw CopeTM as a band album more than just another DJ slapping together a bunch of random club grooves. I wanted to create songs I could play live, not just spin.” Adam Freeland


Iconic DJ and producer Adam Freeland has conquered the dance music world, founded a highly successful record label and now with his indie band Freeland, is set for the release of their debut album ‘Cope’. Featuring a star studded line-up of guests, Freeland’s ‘Cope’ includes the musical talents of Joey Santiago (The Pixies), Brody Dalle (The Distillers), Jerry Casale (Devo), Twiggy Ramirez (Marilyn Manson, Nine Inch Nails) and Tommy Lee (Mötley Crüe).

Having become household name when he pioneered the ‘nu-school breaks’ movement, Adam Freeland quickly gained the respect of the music industry and fans alike with defining releases of ‘Coastal Breaks’ & ‘Tectonics’ and his Marine Parade record label. Having released his debut artist album Now and Them in 2003 Adam went on to release a number of other praised mixes including On Tour, FABRICLIVE, Global Underground and a groundbreaking Back To Mine. Heavily influenced by punk, hip hop, electro, dub, reggae and rock, it featured the global smash hit 'We Want Your Soul'. To cap off a very productive year, his remix of Sarah Vaughan’s 'Fever' was then nominated for a Grammy Award in 2005.

Made up of Pop Levi collaborator Hayden Scott on the drums, Adam Freeland driving the show on the decks with vocalist / bassist Kurt Baumann as the new frontman for the eponymous touring band Freeland are set to smash it with their debut album. Indeed, Cope ultimately proves a genre-smashing, era-defining call to arms on par with Leftfield’s Leftism, Prodigy’s Fat Of The Land, Daft Punk’s Discovery and Justice’s †, defying expectations of what an electronic album should and could be.

Yes, Cope features its share of club killers, like the storming “Morning Sun”; however instead of ye olde prog fromage, it’s laced with Freeland’s raw, hard-rocking “e-drone” grooves, aided by akimbo guitars courtesy of Joey Santiago (The Pixies) and sinister low end from Twiggy Ramirez. Tracks like the driving, gritty “Borderline” co-written and vocals by Brody Dalle, show Freeland’s ability to blend electronic charge with artfully confessional songwriting. Likewise, “Only A Fool,” Freeland’s epic collaboration with Jerry Casale of DEVO, proves a Krautrock apocalyptica anthem for the entire family.

Indeed, Adam’s move from his native U.K. to the California desert reverberates throughout Cope, from the swirling shoegaze of ‘Silent Speaking’ (written and performed with Brooklyn Pitchfork faves SoundPool) to the heartwrenching, Sigur Ros-like ‘Mancry’, an epic modal soundscape anchored by thundering percussion courtesy of Tommy Lee (yes, that Tommy Lee).

The first single from the album ‘Under Control’ demonstrates the bands decisively soldering club-friendly grooves with raw musical interplay, announced immediately in the martial drums/bass stomp that opens the song. Showing off frontman Kurt Baumann's haunting, distinctly powerful vocals, Tony Bevilacqua ignites incendiary guitar angles as counterpoint to the kind of jaded lyrics. Twiggy Ramirez lays down a driving, ominous bassline, and DEVO legend Jerry Casale provides background vocals.


Standout tracks ‘The Best Fish Taco's in Ensendada' and ‘Bring It’ belie Freeland’s roots in stark electronic funk and the decidedly tweaked deconstruction of David Essex’s 1973 glam smash ‘Rock On’ once again features the vocal talents of Kurt Baumann.


Cope is a revealing snapshot that refuses to remain in focus, a brutally vivid glimpse of tomorrow and a timeless yet shocking wake up for today’s attention-deficit dancefloors who are addicted to nothing. - http://www.beatbroker.com.au/projects.php?projectid=318

Freeland intends the groundbreaking new full-length Cope(TM) , to be more than just another electronica album. 'I wanted to make more than just another artist project,' Freeland explains. 'I always saw Cope(TM) as a band album more than just another DJ slapping together a bunch of random club grooves.

I wanted to create songs I could play live, not just spin.' Cope(TM) does have its share of boldfaced guests -everyone from the Pixies' Joey Santiago and Spinnerette's Brody Dalle to Jerry Casale of DEVO and Tommy Lee -not to mention Freeland's trademark banging electro beats; however, at the album's core are the songs he wrote and performed with new vocalist Kurt Baumann, also the frontman in his eponymous new group who make their UK concert debut in April 2009.
Freeland

'The new songs combine electronic grooves with shoegaze guitars, real drums, and songwriting, so they begged to be performed live,' Freeland says. To that end, he put together the touring unit of Baumann on bass, guitar and vocals and Hayden Scott (Pop Levi) on drums, with Freeland himself triggering samples, playing rude Korg MS-20 synth lines, and taking lead vocals on the band's thundering, take-no-prisoners cover of Grinderman's 'No Pussy Blues'; together, they transform classic Freeland club bangers like 'We Want Your Soul' into smart bombs that detonate the dancefloor but defy genre.

'I've always mixed rock into my sets anyway, so having a band is just a natural progression from that,' he clarifies. 'Freeland has all the hard-hitting grooves of my DJ sets, but played live they're even more raw, personal and in your face. This is the sound I've always heard in my head, so now I want to hear it as loud as possible!'

Freeland tour dates
Fri May 1: Rock and Roll Hotel, Washington, DC
Sat May 2: LPR, New York
Mon May 4: Cabaret Juste Pour Rire, Montreal
Tue May 5: Wrongbar, Toronto
Wed May 6: Sonotheque, Chicago
Fri May 22: The Echo, Los Angeles
Sat May 23: Cow Palace, Daly City (San Francisco)

New Single - Freeland - Under Control
'Under Control,' the first single from Freeland's new artist album demonstrates them soldering club-friendly grooves with raw musical interplay, announced immediately in the martial drums/bass stomp that opens the song. Featuring frontman Kurt Baumann's vocals - the haunting, distinctively powerful voice of new discovery who will serve as front man for Freeland's eponymous new touring band; meanwhile, Spinnerette / Distillers guitarist Tony Bevilacqua ignites incendiary guitar angles as counterpoint to the kinda jaded words. Filled with paranoiac, satirical wordplay and skewed political commentary that complements the futuristic yet dissident sonics, 'Under Control' ultimately proves that rarity in club music: an anti-anthem with a brain, yet with beats ballsy enough to crush dance floors in a neighborhood disco near you.

Cope(TM)

The follow up to the successful debut 'Now & Them', Freeland's second album 'Cope(TM) ' is coming out this summer on Marine Parade. The album will available from June 2009. - http://musicremedy.com/f/freeland/album/cope-tm-6680.html

The dance floor is set to get scorching hot this summer, as the latest album from Freeland, entitled Cope™, is set to be released on Marine Parade Records this month. Adam Freeland, more popularly known for his remixes – from the White Stripes to Marilyn Manson – takes a lively electronic sound to a whole different level, which, by way of a highly collaborative project, is not something out of the ordinary.

This extension of Freeland’s endeavors as DJ and producer consists of a lively glittery sound laced with rock & roll elements and industrial tendencies. Employing the vocals of Ken Bauman as frontman and therefore pseudo-constant, the album also features quite many a flourishing, established talent. In fact, should you wonder why Freeland sounds “like this band” or reminds you “of that band”, rest assured; you’ve not gone crazy – that is actually Marilyn Manson’s bassist Twiggy Ramirez, Tommy Lee of Mötley Crüe, and Jerry Casale of DEVO that you hear, among others.

Cope™’s tracks exist with a seamless progression, from a satiating blend of techno-rock to dark, reverberating instrumentals a la Muse, all with a provocative atmospheric undertone throughout. A grungy cover of David Essex’s “Rock On” does with synthesizers and sequencers what the original did with strings; lush ambient shoegazing leads to an all-out rock-out on the track “Silent Speaking”, featuring New York-based band Soundpool. And of course, in respects to the dance floor, there are expected but nevertheless enjoyable say-it-like-you-mean-it lyrical anthems – “just relax, ’cause nothing is under control”, on the track “Under Control”.

Cope™ , the informal sub-definition of “organized experimental chaos”, is available for your streaming and pre-ordering pleasure here. - http://beatcrave.com/2009-06-10/review-of-freelands-cope%E2%84%A2/

Freeland release new single "Do You" on 15th June. In Freeland's words "The remit on this one was if Led Zeppelin were making electronic music what would it sound like? And this is what we came up with. Helped quite a bit by having Tommy Lee on drums, creating that big John Bonham style drum sound".

Do You offers the unexpected, switching uptempo bangers for an 89 BPM groover that eludes any club-genre pigeonholing, and proves a mid-tempo can still set dancefloors aflame. It has an irresistibly massive, Moog synth hook, quickly mangled with choppy glitch edits and thundering kicks and snares that split the difference between Bonham and Run-DMC.

Album "Cope™" is released on 8th June on Matine Parade. You can now hear the entire new album streaming at Freeland.FM with commentary by Adam, and the cast of those involved. Tommy Lee of Motley Crue played drums, Alex Metric co-produced it, Twiggy Ramirez plays bass. Joey Santiago of the Pixies and Tony Bevilacqua of Distillers/Spinerette play guitar. Plus there is a collaboration with Soundpool, vocals from Brody Dalle (Distillers Spinerette) and Gerry from DEVO. Freeland's new frontman Kurt Baumann also sings on four songs.


The album is now available to pre-order from www.freeland.fm
By pre-oredring the album, you get two immediate downloads and a video of the album listening party in Adam's studio including interviews with the collaborating artists exclusively at Freeland.fm as a taster that you can download right now when you pre-order the album in any of the variety of formats (CD, Vinyl, Download and Deluxe Limited Edition pacakge).

To celebrate the release of the album, Adam Freeland is giving away a mixtape. You can download it for free here:
www.marineparade.net/adamfreelandmixtape/

Freeland have some great shows line up over the coming months including massive headline spots at Glastonbury and Glade festivals.

For more info
www.myspace.com/adamfreelandmusic
Join Freeland on Facebook
Join Adam on Twitter
Watch the Freeland Vimeo channel

Rating: 9/10

Review by fatbloke - http://www.uk-clubbing-directory.co.uk/musicreviews/MusicReview.asp?MusicReviewID=646

Freeland fuses rock with dance to make Cope, one of the most exciting electronica albums of summer 2009.

When Brighton, England’s DJ Freeland set out to create his latest solo CD Cope, the follow up to his 2003 debut album Now & Them, he wanted to create a body of work that sounded more like a conceptual album rather than a bunch of beats slapped together.

“I wanted to create songs I could play live, not just spin,” he said in a statement. While Cope contains ample beats, an electro core and enough club-ready grooves to get any dance floor shaking, Freeland also added jagged guitars and real drums.

He based his arrangements around a song-writing style that’s more traditional than the average DJ set, making Cope more of a time-honoured album than a simple party compilation featuring guest vocalists.
Tommy Lee and Joey Santiago Cope with Dance Music

To flesh out the album Freeland enlisted vocalist Kurt Bauman, who now fronts the eponymous new group assembled to tour live. However, the album also includes an impressive list of guests including Mötley Crüe’s Tommy Lee, Joey Santiago from the Pixies as well as Jerry Casale from DEVO.

With such a mixed bag of alternative rock and heavy metal guests along with classic dancefloor inspired beats, Cope may be electronica in nature but the bulk of the album assumes a style of its own and defies genre.


Cope Rocks On

“Do You!” a deep, break beat club groove kicks off the album before merging into heavy drum and guitar-based “Under Control”. Things turn trippy on the mysterious "Strange Things” as well as on the electronic experimentation of trancy “Bring It On”.

“Mancry” sounds epic and eerie in scope with a soundscape shaped by the pounding drums of Tommy Lee, while “Borderline” again switches gears and trots off to incorporate a more alternative rock sound, based around pulsating beats.

Things turn sour, however, with “Rock On” a brutal cover of David Essex’s classic from 1974. The vocal sounds lazy, while the buzzing, electronic twitters seem contrived, unnecessary and makes Michael Damien’s pop cover from 1989 sound like classic material.
Best Fish Tacos In Encinada

“Silent Speaking” brings back the noise before the set’s star truly shines on album highlight “Best Fish Tacos In Encinada”. This warm pulsating dance instrumental proves that electronica doesn’t have to be cold and icy.

“Best Fish Tacos In Encinada” may be the oddest name for a track in some time, but it’s sure to spin any club crowd into a frenzy.
Only A Fool (Can Die)

Mixing brittle vocals by DEVO’s Jerry Casale over a trancy synth, “Only A Fool (Can Die)” clashes the best of rock with paranoid dance.

As the album closes, Freeland returns to the keyboards with a pair of dark electronic numbers - the trance anthem “Morning Sun”, and the detached “Wish I Was Here”, finishing the album as he would a DJ set, with a long goodbye.

On Cope, Freeland proves that with the right ingredients, dance and rock explode in a dynamite mix. Truly one of the best dance/rock albums of summer 2009. Cope hits music outlets June 9, 2009.

Freeland recently sat down with Suite 101 to talk about Cope. Read the interview here.

The copyright of the article Freeland Cope Review in Electronica (Music) is owned by James W. Coates.

Read more: http://electro-music.suite101.com/article.cfm/freeland_cope_review#ixzz0UU2veIRE - http://electro-music.suite101.com/article.cfm/freeland_cope_review

British DJ Adam Freeland brings to the table one the best and most enjoyable dance albums of the year.


1. Do You!
2. Under Control
3. Strange Things
4. Bring It
5. Mancry
6. Borderline
7. Rock On
8. Silent Speaking
9. Best Fish Tacos In Encinada
10. Only a Fool (Can Die)
11. Morning Sun
12. Wish I Was Here

DJ Adam Freeland may have made the best live album of the year – even if there was no actual concert during the recording process.

Everything on Cope has been tailor-made for the concert experience. There’s fist pumping electro, intense rock n’ roll, epic anthems, and a dash of hip-hop rolled up all in one. It’s like a great serving of sushi where each salty flavor bursts in your mouth. Only better.

“Mancry,” is a perfect concert opener. With growing ambience and a phone ringing to chime in the introduction, heavy drums are brought to the fold to make an intense impact on the listener. The addition of crowd cheering wouldn’t have been a stretch – I was seconds away from hollering in the privacy of my own car. (Okay, so I hollered.)

Make no mistake – this is great techno, through and through. Like the best dance music, it introduces new elements to each song to keep you on your toes and always guessing. That unpredictability makes Cope such a compelling listen. Freeland knows not only how to create a great techno song, but a consistently entertaining album.

Cope hits the ground running with “Do You!,” a blend of old-school NES music with slamming hip-hop drums and vocal sampling reminiscent of the best Moby. Immediately following is the album
’s first single, “Under Control,” a gloriously upbeat pop-rock track with giddy vocals provided by chief vocalist Kurt Baumann. The song is a cross between New Order and Fragile-era Nine Inch Nails, and it’s one hell of a fun hybrid. “Relax,” says Baumann, sounding cool. “Nothing is under control.” My stomping boot against the pavement certainly was not.


“Strange Things” is another vocals-oriented song which works a lot better than it should. It evokes Timo Maas’ recent collaborations with Placebo frontman Brian Molko: dark, yet irresistible. The thudding drums with distortion is actually very beautiful with the addition of a lucid voice. The same can be said for “Borderline,” again embracing thudding drums with a relaxed bass line that compliments the song perfectly.

Taking the award for best title, “The Best Fish Tacos in Encinada” is, like the best fish tacos, simply delicious. The video game feel resembles a Harold Faltermeyer motion picture score from the 80’s: imagine a male walking down Sunset Boulevard with hands in his pockets and beautiful women everywhere, and you’ll enjoy a great moment of cheesy, delightful nostalgia.

The only real misstep is “Rock On,” which tries too hard to get the club started. When everything else seems genuine, the one song with a “DO YOU WANNA ROCK?!” vibe feels forced and unnecessary. Why ask us? We're already rocking.

If there’s one below average moment in an album of twelve songs, you know you’re doing well. Very often, I am not tempted to repeat a song upon first listen, but my finger trailed away to the REWIND button several times during Cope, and that's really saying something.

Freeland says: “I wanted to create songs I could play live, not just spin.”

Mission accomplished. Now get them to the stage.


The 411: Freeland's new album is like the best Prodigy, Moby, and Massive Attack... with a flamboyant flair. Everyone involved sounds like they had a blast recording it, and that joyous feeling carries over to the listener without losing any of the flavor. Highly recommended. 411 Elite Award
Final Score: 9.0 [ Amazing ] legend - http://www.411mania.com/music/album_reviews/107566