Hybrid - Numb

Since first bursting onto the scene with the now classic album 'Wide Angle' in 1999, the Swansea, Wales-based Hybrid have been known as one of the most forward thinking and technically skilled acts in electronic dance music. Blurring the line between in-studio production and live presentation, Hybrid are one of the few remaining dance acts to perform live with a classic band setup. Though, much has changed on the road to Hybrid's fourth artist album Disappear Here. Most notable is the addition of Hybrid's newest member -- singer/ songwriter Charlotte James -- to go along with founders Chris Healings and Mike Truman. Charlotte's impact is marked as Disappear Here is truly an album of real songs and not merely dance beats with vocals on top. It offers a lot more than anything Hybrid has ever previously written and pushes boundaries in every way.

With Disappear Here, Hybrid have managed to create an epic and unique sound which has progressed dramatically from its original dance inception but still retains much of what makes electronic music so exciting. "This album offers a lot more than anything we've managed to write in the past", Healings says. "Charlotte comes from that singer/songwriter/performer world and she really inspired us to write something much more song based. Working so much with her we feel like there's a feeling of going somewhere else or doing something that will last longer in a live capacity. The music definitely reflects our desire to be a band but firmly rooted in dance music".

As the opening track for the album, 'Empire' meets Healings' statement of intent for the album. Its pounding live drums and moody, tense atmospherics set the stage and gradually build layers of electric guitars and sweeping strings performed by the City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra. 'Can You Hear Me' is a shining moment combining the vocals of Charlotte and Tim Hutton (who also plays bass for Ian Brown, The Prodigy), while 'Green Shell Suit' is a swirling chill out reprise. 'Every Word' brings a warm, organic feel with the combination of haunting slide guitar, a warm arpeggiated acoustic and a brace of wonky but playful sound design. Album title track 'Disappear Here' mixes a powerful piano driven song over the crunching Hybrid production and the stadium electronica of 'Formula of Fear' presents one of the album's most intense peaks. Venturing further on, 'Salt' is encrusted with warped bass lines and brush drums; 'Original Sin' is a soundscape house music monster and 'Take A Fall' features a rock-breaks edge with Tim Hutton grabbing hold of the mic. Before closing out with the divine 'Numb'. Hybrid presents the album's touchstone and first single 'Break My Soul'. It's all cinematic from the triumphant chorus and 'Day in The Life' strings to the haunting breakdown and filmic overtones.

P & C 2010 Distinctive Records

[jackeroosundown]

Hybrid is one of those artists that never get old, if i'm excited, depressed, relaxed or stressed his music helps :)

[gkgkg]

'Sublime' is an overused word in music, but this song is worthy of that word. Beautifully structured, scored, paced and performed.

[forminasage]

Full lyrics:

Calm turns to coma and I'm washed away in sleep
There's a man on the train talking to his feet

All these places sound the same
I've forgotten what I need
Missed my stop again
Days turn into weeks

Open up the senses that were holding me back
Wide open spaces where strangers once sat

Fade into blue
Fade into black
I subside
I'm weightless
I'm a panic attack

And I just let go
And I just lost control
And everything I am
It's all in my hands
It's all in my hands

What are these standing stones with edges cut to curves?
White-washed the colours and get what I deserve
Drown out the voices and everything I heard
Paralyse the choices
Sever all the nerves

Bleeding karma rescued me beneath this hollow sky
If I don't do anything, do these rules still apply?
Can't see the danger
Can't see the sense
I'm just a stranger claiming self-defence

And I just let go
And I just lost control
And everything I am
It's all in my hands
It's all in my hands

Numb as I am,
It's all in my hands

I nearly got lost back then
Nearly let a cry out
What if I just kept on walking?
What if I just walked right out?
What if I just walked right out?

And I just let go
I just lost control
And everything I am
Is all in my hands

Numb as I am,
It's all in my hands

Source: Musixmatch

[musiccrater]

Calm turns to coma and I'm washed away in sleep
There's a man on the train talking to his feet

All these places sound the same
I've forgotten what I need
Missed my stop again
Days turn into weeks

Open up the senses that were holding me back
Wide open spaces where strangers once sat

Fade into blue
Fade into black
I subside
I'm weightless
I'm a panic attack

And I just let go
And I just lost control
And everything I am
It's all in my head
It's all in my head

What are these standing stones with edges cut to curves?
White-washed the colours and get what I deserve
Drown out the voices and everything I heard
Paralyse the choices
Sever all the nerves

[biggydx]

I listen to alot of underground and indie hip-hop, but Im open minded about music in general and I actually think this group is really good.

[Nedmar]

Christ, how can some musicians be so utterly underrated... or perhaps it is that this kind of tunes are only for chosen ones with the proper highly developed spiritual powers to appreciate and enjoy this tangled beauty of a million interwoven multicolored silk threads covering the inner surface of one's ears and overwhelming the mind with pristine waves of delight.

[maikesenger]

Absolutely so different from any other music i heared all over my life and it touches me deep inside and i can't explain it, i'm sitting hear, listening and i fade into a deep emotion

[mariannedonato]

I just want to let you know that now, it still hits me the same. Haunting, beautiful, so so meaningful. Thank you for making this song. And... thank you from learning from it. ❤️ you do this so beautifully. I cannot listen without tears both from where I know it came, and how it resonates in my life. Love you guys. Truly.

[maikesenger]

It's my Favorite Song, it was always, perhaps the second is Diesapear here ;-)

[geo]

Anybody else here via Julee Cruise? Late discovery for me glad I took the time to check out!

[jackeroosundown]

xD ty. a few months later, but still :p

[gothbluerosewithswords]

inward of these guys before I think I don't know
not until now anyway

[flug]

@TitaniumRobot129
Finished it yet? What kind of book?