Map of What Is Effortless

Esquire
Telefon have been Nine Inch Nails' and Eminem's remixers of choice... gorgeous orchestration, slippery textures, and meaty beats.

Vibe
...warm tones of a vintage Rhodes piano and a swell of strings ...both strangely loopy and deeply soulful.

Map of What Is Effortless

Tracks:

When It Happens It Moves All By Itself
I Lied
My Week Beats Your Year
Bubble And Spike
Map Of What Is Effortless
Nothing Is Worth Losing That
What It Is Wthout The Hand That Wields It
What It Was Will Never Again
At The Edge Of The World You Will Still Float

Customer Reviews:

A Stunning Leap Forward .......2007-06-30

Firstly, I will only evaluate this album based on its high points, simply because they are so frequent and more picturesque than anything I have heard in music since the Art of Noise's The Seduction of Claude Debussy.
The thing Telefon Tel Aviv has been able to do so brilliantly is create, polish, and perfect a sound that is as different as it is gorgeous, and yet it remains abundant in sound and concept.
The first element that draws in attention, say, if you were flipping through a song from Map on the radio, is the elegant mastery of their signature beat sound. An enormous spectrum of traditional drums and glitchy sounds come together, weaving in and out of the tempo and melody. Most of the time, throughout the steady, down-tempo electronic music, little blips will pop out hear and there, adding an impressive level of detail that I have never heard in music before.
Coupled with their tendency to "bit crush" sounds and instruments from time to time (looping it extremely fast), the beats themselves have a powerful effect in and of themselves.
The use of a rhoades piano and an acoustic/shimmering electric guitar are common with Telefon Tel Aviv, but a few songs of Map are actually joined by a live orchestra. It is the addition of real strings when merged with the tweaked out beats that truly makes Map of What is Effortless an album of epic proportions. Nothing like this has been done so well before, and when you reach the climax of the last song (At the Edge), you'll be craving more sound from the most brilliant electronic artists of our time.
Does "My Week Beats Your Year" appeal to a crowd that might not be interested in down-tempo IDM? Sure. Are Damon's vocals reminiscent of other R&B singers? I don't see why not. Does that, in any way, take away from the ultimate appeal of the album? Not if you're into something that will raise the bar beyond anything that has been attempted in this genre before.

Hmm........2006-07-01

Well, I love the music and beats. I hate the vocals. I guess what it comes down to is, "Do you like uninspired run-of-the-mill male R&B vocals?" If so, this album is most definitely for you. For me, there are few things in the music world that annoy me more than average R&B music and lyrics.

Not saying that Telefon Tel Aviv aren't talented guys, just saying that this album is totally not for me.

Pleasantly suprised.......2005-12-17

I have never heard of Telefon Tel Aviv until I purchased a compilation featuring "My Week Beats Your Year." I like this CD very much. Some songs are just instrumentals, but those tracks too have character and possess emotion. Simple. Smooth. Emotionally engaging. Cool.

My only complaint is that I wish there were more songs on the CD.

it's not so much the vocals, it's the lyrics..........2005-10-26

...the lyrics make me cringe... no matter how hard I try...

...Tessio (Luomo)
...Infinetly Gentle Blows (God Within)
...Dreams Of You (Kevin Yost)
...So Now (Matthew Herbert)
...Autumn Leaves (Irresistible Force Remix)
...You Forgot (Theo Parrish)
...Make It Rain (Tom Waits)

...so you know I don't hate vocals. I love Telefon Tel Aviv, and I will keep listening to this album, and I admit that it is damn good, but it still hurts...

ANYTHING BUT EFFORTLESS!!!.......2005-09-13

Why are folks so quick to put down an album that features a few vocals??? One reviewer here mentioned that they were unnecessary, but in my opinion, the vocals give an added flair to what may just sound like pedestrian arrangements. Notwithstanding the incredibly dreamy "Map of What Is Effortless" is anything but effortless in its production. Full of tight orchestrations, thumpin' basslines, innovative techniques and sensuous, oft-time melanchonic, vocals, the sophomore release from Telefon Tel Aviv is sure to be an instant classic to downtempo/IDM fans. I hadn't heard the first release from these guys, but I'm sure it's just as good if not better than this material. These guys are like a cross between Boards of Canada and Four Tet, only with vocals. Highly Recommended!!!