Gejius

The first thing that strikes me about the Gejius album is how well it is put together. The packaging is a gorgeous Digipak, which is the new trend for good reason. Not only is there full color artwork but the inside cover includes the different technologies used to make the album. For any music/production nerd like myself this is a nice addition.

On to the music…

I can’t quite put my finger on who Gejius reminds me of but the electronic bleeps and darkness of Aphex Twin and the drum samples of DJ Shadow come to mind. I like the way he mixes the electronic effects and live guitars to create a deep and live sounding album. Compositionally Gejius is all over the place, in a good way. There are some real strong areas of counterpoint and use of timbres like the synth string introduction of “ In Search of Moby Dick.” I can tell he studied music at some point and the inside of the CD thanks “Berklee & their professors who gave me what I needed,” which make sense. “Osmosis” is very strong in the same area and is an absolutely great demonstration of how good of a progressive musician he is.

Another aspect of the music I really like is the use of percussion. At times it is deep and gives the music a definite pulse and other times like on the song “the North Star” he uses it more as a background texture. The rest of the instruments seem to wander freely most of the time so it is nice to have the drum samples to fall back on. I can’t really tell whether he recorded them live or if they were bundled with Live but they sound so good.

Overall I think the album is very creative and well thought out but there are a few times where the tracks don’t flow too well from one to the other. I’m not sure if Gejius plays the same material live but I would really like to see how performs it. The album is split between the classical instrumental influence music and the straight forward dance music which is a great mixture but if they were separated into two different albums I think each would stand out on their own better. But what Gejius has here is an album pretty ahead of the times and one most musicians wish they could create. - A Prospering City

"...And of course, we have the valedictorian, a young genius named Gejius who might be accused of playing IDM by the girl from Minneapolis who came in here the other day hustling for a gig. But he's far too soulful and inspired for any particular genre label, using his laptop like a saxophone satellite dish tuned to the jump jazz of another star. Prance, girls." - www.somedaylounge.com

Perhaps the best ode to crayons ever! Perhaps the only ode to crayons ever! If I’d heard this song while attending elementary school, I would’ve put it in the same league as “De Colores.” However, the year is not 1995 [Editor’s Note: I am so old]. It being 2007, though, this track competes with Chromeo for the Vocoder’s affections, and the Vocoder pays Gejius equal attention.

The electronica genius of the tune plays to his name—a flub of trying to say both “Jesus” and “genius” at the same time. If this is an indication of Gejius’ new direction (so early in his career), I hope that new direction is available not for made-to-order, but instead rushed order. It’s clear to hear that further praise will soon be coming his way once “Cray-oh-la-la” makes its way to the DJs’ decks and the dance club soundsystems. It’s unclear what all the revelers will do in their “mad fits of inspiration,” only that when this comes on they will have said fits. Consider yourself warned. The results could be more colorful than a box of 96 crayons. - Willamette Week

Perhaps the best ode to crayons ever! Perhaps the only ode to crayons ever! If I’d heard this song while attending elementary school, I would’ve put it in the same league as “De Colores.” However, the year is not 1995 [Editor’s Note: I am so old]. It being 2007, though, this track competes with Chromeo for the Vocoder’s affections, and the Vocoder pays Gejius equal attention.

The electronica genius of the tune plays to his name—a flub of trying to say both “Jesus” and “genius” at the same time. If this is an indication of Gejius’ new direction (so early in his career), I hope that new direction is available not for made-to-order, but instead rushed order. It’s clear to hear that further praise will soon be coming his way once “Cray-oh-la-la” makes its way to the DJs’ decks and the dance club soundsystems. It’s unclear what all the revelers will do in their “mad fits of inspiration,” only that when this comes on they will have said fits. Consider yourself warned. The results could be more colorful than a box of 96 crayons. - Willamette Week