DDDJMX – Oceaned (Album – DanceDelic-D)
Genre/Influences: Electro-rock, funky, groovy.
Format: Digital.
Background/Info: DDDJMX is the meeting between two ‘giants’ from the Belgian music scene. DDD stands for Dirk Da Davo (The Neon Judgement, Neon Electronics) and JMX stands for Jean-Marie Aerts (producer, musician and of course involved long time ago with TC Matic). They previously released an EP and now achieved this full length album.
Content: “Oceaned” is a work mixing the influences of both musicians. Dirk Da Davo took care of the electronic loops and grooves while taking the vocals for him. Jean-Marie Aerts is playing guitar and added some bass as well. Most of the songs have something pretty funky, but in the end it all sounds a bit like a free-styled work. Some passages –especially at “New Normality” even have something cinematic-like.
+ + + : This work is quite surprising if you consider Dirk Da Davo is involved. This sound is far away from the coldness of The Neon Judgement, but sounds as the offspring of the groovy side of Neon Electronics mixed with the guitar playing of Jean-Marie Aerts. Some parts of the album make me think of urban-styled music. But it’s not that strange one of my favorite cuts is just a little darker and featuring more explicit electronic part (cf. “Ozz”).
– – – : I had some reservations reviewing this album or not because of its sound/influences. This is not exactly what I would call an underground or alternative release although it’s not commercial like. It might appeal for a very different audience, but I’m missing some of the cold-/darkness in it.
Conclusion: “Oceaned” is probably more an album that has to be seen as two mates making music and having fun together instead of an album that will enter into the Belgian music history… even if both members are already ‘history’!
Best songs: “Ozz”, “Bring It”, “We’re Slipping And Sliding”.
Rate: (6).
Artists: www.facebook.com/dirk.dadavo / www.facebook.com/JMX-Jean-Marie-Aerts-24932259011
Label: www.dancedelicd.com / www.facebook.com/ddd.neon.electronics
About DDDJMX
DDDJMX pairs two figures from the Belgian music scene: Dirk Da Davo, formerly of The Neon Judgement and later of Neon Electronics, and Jean-Marie Aerts, formerly of TC Matic and a producer for artists including Luc Van Acker and Urban Dance Squad. The duo first released the “DDD JMX” EP in 2017 before completing the full-length “Oceaned”, mixed by Michel “Shelle” Dierickx, engineer of The Neon Judgement’s 1989 album “Blood and Thunder”, which Aerts also partially produced.
Support Side-Line
More people read Side-Line than ever, and there is still no paywall and no advertising. Readers pay for it instead - from $5 a month.
Why we ask
Advertising revenues across the media are falling fast. Unlike many news organisations we have not put up a paywall, and we refuse to add annoying advertising, so we need to ask for your help. Side-Line’s independent journalism takes time, money and hard work to produce, and we do it to push the artists we like, who are equally fighting to survive.
Handled by PayPal.
I have been working for over 30 years with Side-line as the main reviewer. My taste is eclectic, uncoventional and I prefer to look for the pearls, even if the bands are completely unknown, thus staying loyal to the Side-Line philosophy of nurturing new talents.
