Dale White – Fade
Reviewed By Jason Smith
The mind is a powerful tool. When utilized for imaginative purposes, it can take you places while standing still. Some choose to use external devices to assist in the journey. While some choose to reach altered states through an array of street corner pharmaceuticals, others rely on music’s harmonies and melodies alone. Depending upon the musician you listen to, you’ll either be traveling at the speed of sound or going nowhere fast. Unless said composer or producer delights in the idea of being a sonic sandman, their mixture of harmonies and melodies ought to keep the listener engaged. Georgia-based composer Dale White evokes emotional responses through electronic music on his latest album, Fade. Perhaps the best way to describe it is rhythmically-inclined new age: compositions washed in ambience, but always anchored by a pulse or a backbeat. Then again, an apt indication of the album’s purpose is captured by its subtitle: “Music For The Mind Traveler.”
White has expressed interest in his music being used for film and television, and there’s plenty here to suggest that his works would make a great fit for documentaries and perhaps science programs as well. Can anybody else hear the album’s opener, “Better Day,” as the theme song for a hospital drama? For Dale, the song represents memories of a day spent with his son. For a network, the lone piano pattern accentuated by plucked strings and staccato bursts of static could be the next earworm for a hit show. Sometimes the thing that catches your ear regarding White’s songs is the way in which different elements come together. Some ingredients you don’t see coming, like the meaty bass line steering the course on “Faded Trip,” adding a bit of spunk to an already upbeat and positive tune. “Eastern Signs” is arguably the best song on the album, its slightly tribal buildups giving way to hushed break beats underneath a wave of keyboards as well as Japanese and Thai vocal samples.
“Sister Liu Han Finds Her Rock” is another memorable moment, which includes a handclap cadence that proves infectious. Focusing your attention to the small details within a song like this can make for a big payoff. The only real misstep on this album would be “Euro Time,” White’s take on European techno. He readily admits that this song is “tongue in cheek,” but techno diehards may find very little to laugh about. Even so, Fade makes good on its promise to provide a soundtrack for the places you go in your mind. In terms of his TV/film pursuits, White’s album is his calling card, evidence of capturing mood and making new memories through song. A few years may be the only thing separating him from a full-length feature film score. There’s another area of entertainment that Dale may want to seriously consider: video games, particularly the role-playing kind. If the makers of the Final Fantasy series are working on a new title, they really need to give Dale a call…
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