- Lithuania is cold. Cold and bleak. Perhaps that's not much of a revelation to those with a passing interest in global geography, but it's a fact that was offered by way of explanation for the kind of music crafted by Mario & Vidis when I spoke to them towards the end of 2011: "For us there is something interesting about not being happy." But while there's certainly more than a little austerity about their debut full length, Changed, scratch below the frozen surface and you'll find warmth and hospitality in abundance.
Changed is essentially a collection of the duo's work collated from nearly three years of studio time, a partnership that started with the aptly named "Test." That track was pounced upon by Gilles Peterson. Buoyed by the support, the production floodgates were opened so wide that Changed encompasses two CDs.
It's split roughly across the "poppier" and "clubbier" facets of their output, but all of it contains an ambitious and diverse assortment of crisp percussion, sweeping, melancholic strings and languorously compelling vocals, cooly delivered by a selection of singers some of whom also contribute to the writing on the album. The best known—and arguably the best of all—is the album's title track, co-written by Ernesto. Its quality is unquestionable, a seductive pop-meets-house masterpiece that manages to avoid cliché without ever doing anything particularly clever lyrically.
Kathy Diamond, Jazzu and Giedre also contribute superbly understated vocal tracks over the course of the first disc, the pick for me being "Slow," in which a lolloping bassline and crystalline strings create a kind of mellow tension, Giedre crackling alongside with her best Roisin Murphy impression. The only one that breaks this hazy spell is "IMS," wherein Ernesto goes slightly overboard with his vocal during the verses and slightly cheapens what would otherwise be a perfectly solid effort.
Things take a darker turn on CD 2 as the syncopated chattering of "Plastic People" melds into the ominous bounce of "In My System (Dub Redo)"; a record that is so utterly different from the previous version that it might as well have a different name. It's an early highlight, especially around the four minute mark with the introduction of a electronic whip of a synth; a Tron-like, behemoth of a sound, almost certainly substantial enough for Jeff Bridges to fend off any unwanted attention that might come his way.
The rest of the disc progresses through dancing piano lines ("Black Boogie") and frenetic synths (the aforementioned "Test") before finding itself at "Kashykkk," a mountainous track that pretty much sums up Mario & Vidis' approach. Aesthetically stark and intimidating, once you've navigated the barren plains and lancing crags of its exterior, you'll find something altogether more soothing. There's heart and soul in Changed, albeit buried at times under drifts of frozen sheets, but it's certainly worthy of a little excavation.
Tracklist 01. Introducing to You
02. In My System (Album Redo) feat. Kathy Diamond
03. Slow feat. Giedre
04. Suspend the Feeling feat. Giedre
05. Changed feat. Ernesto
06. Who's Changed the Silence?! (Interlude)
07. ISM feat. Ernesto
08. Who's Shot the Silence?! (Album Redo) feat. Jazzu
09. I'll Be Gone (Album Redo) feat. Jazzu
10. When Nobody Listens
11. Plastic People feat. Vytautas Sondeckis
12. In My System (Dub Redo) feat. Kathy Diamond
13. You Are Here
14. Black Boogie
15. Test (Album Redo)
16. Kashyyyk
17. Demo.Lition Part 1
18. Demo.Lition Part 2
19. Adventurous Instrumental Music
20. Adventurous Instrumental Music Continues