Afterlife (Electronica DVD/CD set)
DVD: Picture: C+
Sound: B Extras: C- Main Program: C+
CD: Sound: B Music: C+
Recently when covering the terrific Future Retro
CD, we pointed out how pointless and generic so many remix releases were, but
forgot to note how this applied to endless Electronica projects. Then came Afterlife, a 2005 DVD/CD
set that offers a new age approach to the genre, with variations of a few
tracks throughout and in both formats.
The DVD runs just over 47 minutes and offers several tracks accompanied
by women dancing pretty much the same lame dance throughout most of the very
repetitious program.
The CD runs a few minutes longer and may have a bit more
to it, but the results in both cases are extended party mixes that are not as
exciting or aesthetically pleasing as the producers think they are. It is generic and the theme of life after
death is barely covered or dealt with.
I have seen better random images on the subject be more effective on
brief shots of three-minute Music Videos.
Essentially, it comes down to a party set with pretension, so brace
yourself.
Of course, the producers have done two things to try to
make it seem like more. While the 1.33
X 1 video is nothing to write home about and analog PAL that looks more dated
than British Music Videos of the early 1980s, the sound is here in Dolby
Digital 5.1 and DTS 6.1, with the DTS playing back just richly enough to make
this less annoying. It is also better
than the CD’s PCM 2.0 16bit/44.1kHz Stereo, but the CD still has good
sound. The extras include three screen
savers and three interviews with some of the most substandard audio we have
encountered in a while. Including Fatboy
Slim, who had some interesting things to say, the audio is too hot and
raw. You also cannot freeze it or back
it up. Finally, there is the case,
which shamelessly tries to ape the terrific designs of the Directors Label
series of exception Music Video directors.
Seven of them and counting are reviewed elsewhere on this site. That includes fonts, colors and the graphics
approach. Too bad it just does not
work.
- Nicholas Sheffo
