Stylophonic - 'Man Music Technology' (Prolifica)
3/5
By: Thomas Hannan
Some people are just too damn impatient. You spend hours slaving away over a hot mixing-desk making a record so perfect for summer that sunshine radiates from it every time you give it a spin, and then you release it in February. OK, it's not going to wake the sun up all by itself. But 'Man Music Technology' could well soundtrack your emergence from winter hibernation.
Stylophonic is essentially our friend the 31-year-old Italian Stefano Fontana, a man who at his age, surely, shouldn't be enjoying making music this much? Whether that's the case or not, this entire project is approached with an almost stereotypical degree of Italian passion and flair - this is a man that evidently loves his dancing, adores his good times, but is also serious enough about his music to have a deep suspicion for the traditional 4/4 time signature.
So the product of this labour of dreamy adoration is a record unashamedly focused purely on the dance genre, which mixes a personal obsession for dabbling about with any style he can get his hands on, with some good old unadulterated pop infectiousness throughout.
Well, full marks for ambition. It's true; Mr Fontana really does want to have a go at everything. There's some toe-tapping, laid-back rap on 'Way Of Life', sleazy funk with the arrival of 'Break @ 100 BPM', blatant euro-pop in the way of 'Da Symphony' and sweet playful loops on standout track and recent single, 'If Everybody In The World Loved Everybody In The World'. It's all so effortlessly cool; this record wears sunglasses indoors without looking like an idiot, drinks endless cocktails, and - still feeling like a man - can shove camp completely in your face whilst running off with your girlfriend. It aches with fashion, at a speed you can move to.
It's a wonder then, with Stylophonic's obvious enjoyment of his 'have a go at everything' philosophy on music, that this record can occasionally sound so uninspired. It suffers from a lack of direction, and where this could be compensated for with mastery of each style attempted, the concepts from time to time seem half-formed. Furthermore, although there is an adequately varied set of ideas spewing forth from your speakers, it doesn't take a listener long to realise that very few of these are actually original to 'Man Music Technology'... Sure, you might not have heard them in this context previously, but - after a while - that disguise wears thin... If our man's really so excited about the prospect of there being no limitations to dance music, what's stopping him from adding a few dimensions of his own?
Yet the fact remains - if you're fed up with winter blues, 'Man Music Technology' is a more than sufficient antidote. If you like your dance but want a little variation, some excitement and plenty of sunshine, then pull up a deckchair on the Stylophonic beach. Even though the view might become just a little too familiar.
Artists in this article: Stylophonic
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