Howie B Albums (10)
'Music for Astronauts and Cosmonauts'
Release Date 6/5/2007
Tracks 7
Label Reincarnate
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'Reale: Not in the Face'
Release Date 1/1/2007
Tracks 10
Label V2 Italy
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What The Critics Say
Mayonnaise comes a few years after the gold rush of electronica, a period when ignoring the latest trends in music was a dangerous proposition for anyone with a reputation or a recording contract to risk losing. Howie B., instead of pursuing electronic music down yet another rabbit hole (despite the ability to produce a downright ripping garage/grime or dancehall track if he'd had the inclination), took a course few could have expected or recommended. First, he recruited a pair of vocalist/songwriters (one of whom was the frontman for Britpop also-rans Longpigs), and second, he named the resulting trio Mayonnaise. Surprisingly, the record that appeared under this desultory nickname has more emotional power than any of his other works, and it sounds drastically different than any other record of the year. Wielding the compositional devices of another period -- specifically, the mid-to-late '80s, the era of NordLeads, the Atari ST, and the Omnichord -- Howie B. produced a series of spare, downbeat, occasionally redemptive productions for the songwriting of Crispin Hunt (the former Longpig) and Dublin native Will O'Donovan. Fans of '80s synth pop and alternative will immediately find, and just as quickly enjoy, the forthright, dramatic vocal performances to rank with late-'80s juggernauts such as Human League, Alphaville, or even Simply Red. (One of the exceptions, Hunt's "Because of the Weather," is a dead-to-rights Brian Eno vocal track dragged into the early '80s.) Instead of a record with immediate impact but no shelf life, Mayonnaise pegs an earlier moment in time and welds it to songwriting that alternative fans will enjoy for years. ~ John Bush, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
What greets the eye on the track listing of Howie B's contribution to the Fabriclive series is less impressive than what greets the ear once the disc is heard, which is a testament to the man's mixing skills. In a mix of funky breaks and big beat, Howie B gives these tracks -- most of which have a cinematic flair to them -- plenty of breathing room and adds elements taken from other sources on top (some spoken word from Lydia Lunch, the crazy screams from Ennio Morricone's main title for Navaho Joe, etc.). Excepting the low-slung dub of Prince Far I's "Foundation Stepper" and the paranoid drum'n'bass of Blame's "Music Takes You," the track selections date from two years of the mix's release year and hit a peak with Howie B's own jittery, sped-up remix of Garbage's sexed-up "Cherry Lips (Go Baby Go)." As creative as this mix is, there's no denying that it lacks the musical depth and diversity of B's Another Late Night. ~ Andy Kellman, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Folk, the album on which Howie B doesn't go for the electro gusto and channels his energy into outward bound gear, seeking the organic, the international, the mysterious, and the mental is a more curious affair than anything he's issued previously. Essentially, it is a slew of disparate stories from a musical burn case who keeps one of his personalities focused firmly on the mixing deck and the other fluidly appearing and disappearing in space -- outer and inner. Folk is still very much a human record, maybe even more so than Music for Babies or Turn the Dark Off, in that it is far more intimate. Fans of the cozy Howie B will dig the hell out of "Making Love on Your Side," the album's opening track, with it's glistening, noir-ish gypsy blues ambience, or the over-the-edge desperate love song with Robbie Robertson on "All This Means to Me." Here, as Roberston makes an actual attempt to sing his part, Howie goes for a greasy little trip-hop groove that is more smoky and seductive than in your face. But they're strange, too; there's a high-tech kind of eeriness at the heart of the mix that undoes itself and makes the protagonist come off as obsessive -- which he is. Proving that the Middle Eastern voices and the borrowed international themes are part of a bigger picture, B proves that he sees his role more as a guiding collaborator than as a solo artist. The Robertson track is one example, but it's stellar opposite is even more intriguing, a cover of David Essex's "Rock On" as a duet between ex-Virgin Prune Gavin Friday and new voice on the block Karmen Wiyjnberg. Wiyjnberg also makes an appearance on the dark, silvery funk of "Musical Mayday." This is a confusing little record to be sure, with its threads sticking out all over by the end, but it's also compelling enough to make you listen a dozen times just to see if you can nail it down. ~ Thom Jurek, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Howie B's Another Late Night was the second entry in the popular series Another Late Night. It (and Fila Brazillia's entry) reflects a more eclectic approach to chillout that often leads to a less-unified album. The collection starts off with an obscure funk/soul track by Motown's the Undisputed Truth called "What Is It." Next is the Love Unlimited Orchestra's "Love's Theme," which should appeal to anyone who liked the theme to Shaft or Curtis Mayfield's Superfly and needs a new object of affection. Howie B turns eclecticism up to 11 with the inclusion of Santana's "Mirage" (from the 1974 album Borboletta) and Mayfield's "Summer Hot" from his underrated 1983 Honesty album. In all, Howie B's Another Late Night might not be quite the jazzy, down-tempo chillout disc some expect. It does, however, revel in its diversity and, as such, does a great job highlighting tracks not commonly associated with this subgenre. Another solid volume of the series, but likely to be one of the least popular to those who strictly interpret electronica. Definitely worth a listen. ~ JT Griffith, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
From the languished trip-hop of Music for Babies to the sublime big beat on Turn the Dark Off, Howie B. has excelled at rewiring the latest thing in electronica to display not only his stellar production skills but also his ear for unheard beats and overall knack for creating excellent headphone music. To that extent, Snatch is a similar record. The jumping-off point for this one, however, is the increasingly experimentalist slant of electronic music during the late '90s, displayed by the slipped-disc sample minimalism of artists such as Autechre, Panasonic, and Mouse on Mars. The opener, "Gallway," takes a few minutes of static electricity to launch into its muted beat attack, while the sub-bass depth on "Cook for You" is practically off the charts. "Trust" blends a few phlegmatic effects reminiscent of Mouse on Mars with glazed-eye minimalism of the Philip Glass variety and a melodica sample perhaps gleaned from his trip to Jamaica (the results of which appeared on Sly & Robbie Stripped to the Bone by Howie B., released less than a month before). Of course, a month's working vacation in Kingston is going to result in radically different music than spending time in the new-experimentalist center of Köln, but Snatch successfully fuses the earthier side of dub and trip-hop with abstract electronics. It's by far his best album yet. ~ John Bush, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Working with U2 on their 1997 Pop album gave Howie B. a better sense of what will keep listeners awake, and the improvement is obvious on his second solo album. Turn the Dark Off fits in with the crop of late-'90s big beat maestros, like the Chemical Brothers, the Prodigy, Bentley Rhythm Ace, and David Holmes; though it doesn't quite outdistance the pack (blame the lack of energy on some leftover atmospherics from Music for Babies), the album still contains enough of Howie B.'s studio tweaks to make it worthwhile, especially on the unfortunately titled "Buttmeat" and the single "Angels Go Bald Too." ~ John Bush, All Music Guide
'Music for Babies'
Release Date 1/1/1996
Tracks 8
Label Island Independent
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