Madita | self titled – fresh from Vienna

so the brilliant people at couch records in Austria sent me Madita’s debut self-titled album, free shipping as i pre-ordered it before the release date, and yesterday it arrives.

it’s a great album, very unique, energetic. my impressions of it are that it’s a very ‘first album’ kind of thing. there are two or three outstanding tracks on it, and the rest of the album isn’t horrible, but it just isn’t to the same standard as those tracks. it has all of the enthusiasm of a first album, exploration, experimentation, and it’s only proper that artists do this when they first set out. the album has been created to a very high standard though, and as it’s produced by none other than Vlado Dzihan, it keeps with Dzihan and Kamien’s exceptionally high production standards. phonically it sounds great, mixed and engineered well, and the edginess to Madita’s voice is often accentuated with good vocal distortion.

it’s an interesting mix of electronic chill-out, jazz, blues and that unique cruisy Austrian/Vienese sound we’ve all grown to know and love through Kruder and Dorfmeister, and Dzihan and Kamien. some tracks reveal more D&K influence than others, and overall the album is probably tilted in their direction, but i wouldn’t go so far as to say Dzihan wrote all the music and Madita just sang on it. the music certainly does have its own flavour, and just listening to it now in a significantly better environment than my car, i’m hearing a lot of subtler nuances that aren’t apparent through the road and wind noise of a vehicle.

Madita has a very different voice. she can be sweet, but most of the time has a stronger, edgier voice. it isn’t rough or abbrasive at all, but it certainly has a vibrance that can be slightly harsher than straight sweet-singing. i really do like this, and the music has been crafted around it very well. my only minor issue with this album is that many of the vocal melodies revolve purely around the perfect fifth, almost in every track. she seems to constantly singing the fifth note, which at first was slightly monotonous, but i can see past it to the style now, and as i listen to it in better environments, it makes more sense in context with the music.

so far my favourites are ‘ceylon’, ‘mood’, ‘to the moon and back’, ‘a letter to you’, and ‘pushing’. i still haven’t had enough listening time to judge the others yet, but i am devoting a lot of time to listening to it.

i’m very satisfied with the purchase – well worth the 13 euros it cost me, and i’m glad i preordered it, as i’d have to wait until february/march before its release in the western world, and there are no guarantees it would be released here, and if so in any great quantity.