Furious Angels

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Furious Angels
Furious Angels cover
Studio album by Rob Dougan
Released 1-disc: July 2002
2-disc: June 2003
Recorded 1995, 1998–2002
Genre Trip-hop, ambient, classical
Length CD1: 71:10
CD2: 53:43
Label UK: BMG, Cheeky
USA: Warner Bros. Records, Reprise
Producer Rob Dougan
Professional reviews
Rob Dougan chronology
(N/A) Furious Angels
(2003)		 New album expected 2008

Furious Angels is the debut album by Rob Dougan, released in June 2002 in the United Kingdom and in July 2003 in the United States and Europe. It was nominated for the 2004 Grammy Award for Best Boxed or Special Limited Edition Package.

Contents

[edit] Release

Furious Angels was originally released as a single-disc album (14 tracks for its world edition, 15 for its home UK edition) dominated by vocal tracks. It was then rereleased as a two-disc album, disc one featuring all 15 songs and disc two featuring 10 instrumental versions of the vocal songs from the first disc, as well as two music videos; there's also been a special-edition set adding a booklet of lyrics and photographs.[1] The album was written, produced and mainly financed by Rob Dougan himself, rather than a studio, with funds generally raised through the licensing of tracks from the album to film and television.

This album has been described as "semi-dark, yet fresh and witty", but its appeal is far from universal, as summarised by the opening paragraph of a 2003 article in The Guardian:

“ Rob Dougan is a rather odd musician. He says he's not particularly interested in music, for a start. His most famous track, Clubbed to Death, is dance music that you could never dance to. He has written for both Matrix films, but doesn't seem to think much of what he did for those either. He spent six years working on his orchestral solo album, Furious Angels, which could either be an epic work of panoramic genius or a gargantuan monument to his ego, with strings — it's hard to tell. And he has just been asked to remix some Frank Sinatra tracks, even though he thinks remixes are a waste of time.[2] ”

It's been noted how the overall tonality of both music and lyrics is essentially dark — in a similar way to some blues or folk music. While not a concept album, it seems structured as a descent into darkness followed by an ascension towards light (a comedy in the traditional theatrical sense).

[edit] "Clubbed to Death"

Dougan frequently attempts different variations of the same track, which usually find their way onto single releases. However the "Kurayamino variation" of this "Clubbed to Death" is significantly better known than the first one due to its appearance in the film The Matrix. Therefore, this version is now known simply as "Clubbed to Death", and the first one as the "First Mix".

The subtitle "Kurayamino variation" is Japanese for "darkness's variation" (暗闇（くらやみ） kurayami means darkness, and の no is the genitive suffix). It denotes Dougan's own mix in a tragic style, as well as his stated inspirations from Japanese 'dark' writers such as Yukio Mishima or Yasunari Kawabata.[3]

The "Abyssal Mix" version was remixed by independent mixer "Abyssal Seraphim" and is strange in that the song is first reversed before any other editing is done, giving it a quite unique sound.

The short strings intro is an excerpt from the first movement of Edward Elgar's Enigma Variations. On the other hand, and contrary to a widespread rumour, the piano parts are not "samples of Elgar's Enigma Variations", and you wouldn't find them on Elgar's score: they are Dougan's own composition, played by himself; but this composition is indeed derived from the Enigma Variations (especially the visible Theme and variations 1 and 12), and could be considered either as an apocryphal 15th variation, or as Dougan's attempt at solving said enigma, which is the fabled second, hidden theme Elgar said he based his 14 variations on, but never revealed; see details in Enigma Variations's history.

"Clubbed to Death 2"'s classical part is built around Chopin's "Prelude No.4 in E-minor" (from Preludes, opus 28). The piece was played in the classic film "The Amazing Mr. X" (1948).

A mix of Clubbed to Death titled 'Peshay Mix' was present on The Big Brother soundtrack, following the first season of Big Brother in the UK. This version features only minimal string, piano and synthesizer parts and light percussion with a breakbeat section in the middle of the song.

A sample of Clubbed to Death is used in commercials for the NCAAW basketball tournament commercial


[edit] Track listing

[edit] Disc one

  1. "Prelude" (0:43)
  2. "Furious Angels" (5:56)
  3. "Will You Follow Me?" (3:50)
  4. "Left Me for Dead" (4:34)
  5. "I'm Not Driving Anymore" (4:34)
  6. "Clubbed to Death" (Kurayamino variation) (7:29)
  7. "There's Only Me" (5:37)
  8. "Instrumental" (4:28)
  9. "Nothing at All" (6:32)
  10. "Born Yesterday" (5:20)
  11. "Speed Me towards Death" (4:33)
  12. "Drinking Song" (3:59)
  13. "Pause" (0:33)
  14. "One and the Same (Coda)" (5:46)
  15. "Clubbed to Death 2" (7:07)

[edit] Disc two (instrumental versions)

  1. "Will You Follow Me? [instrumental]" (4:34)
  2. "Furious Angels [instrumental]" (6:04)
  3. "Left Me for Dead [instrumental]" (4:42)
  4. "I'm Not Driving Anymore [instrumental]" (4:34)
  5. "There's Only Me [instrumental]" (5:36)
  6. "Instrumental" (4:30)
  7. "Nothing at All [instrumental]" (5:54)
  8. "Born Yesterday [instrumental]" (7:33)
  9. "Speed Me Towards Death [instrumental]" (4:30)
  10. "One and the Same (Coda) [instrumental]" (5:46)

[edit] Song usage

Many of the tracks from the album have been licensed for use in feature films, advertising, or on television.[4] It is most memorable for its songs being in The Matrix series and on Top Gear.

Films
Television
Advertisements
Sports
  • Played in the BankAtlantic Center, home of the Florida Panthers, just before every game starts
  • Played in Edinburgh Academy Rugby changing rooms most saturdays before the game
Games

[edit] References

  1. ^ Discography from Faithless / Rollo / Sister Bliss & related artists - Unofficial Discography
  2. ^ Sick of dance music, Will Hodgkinson, The Guardian, August 29, 2003
  3. ^ Japanese inspirations for Furious Angels (Archive.org copy, original dead or under reconstruction)
  4. ^ Furious Angels repackaged album, RobDougan.com (Archive.org copy, original dead or under reconstruction), 27 June 2003

[edit] External links

Languages