12:08 pm: A few Duchess 33 Reviews are finally starting to pop up...
Here are three reviews that I've seen online so far. Let me know if you see any others (good or bad!) :-)
From VampireFreaks.com below:
Mark Nicholas is an Electronic musician, based in Detroit, Michigan. He found his love for electronic music, in the late 80's, when he met his first synthesizer. He spent years saving money and collecting additional electronic equipment and by 1994, he formed the underground synthpop band 'Cosmicity'.
His debut album, under the new name, is called "Duchess 33" (released Feb. 2007). The title is a tribute to his 'porn name', which he created in 2004 after being called a "potty mouth" and a "smut dealer by bloggers, when his record label at the time, refused to release the final Cosmicity album for "offensive content". He calls his style of music "Dirty Electronic". Once you listen to the songs, you will see why this fits. Every song on this album is full of energy, urging you to move along with each beat. The lyrics will, at times, make you chuckle, simply because of the images they will create in your mind.
The first track, Green, sets the pace for the rest of the album, not only in the style of music, but also in lyrics such as "You know you want to want me. Get free and watch her touch me. I'll make you wet with envy." It's energetic, naughty and just plain fun. Perverse, the albums third track, in all honesty is one of my personal favorites. The lyrics speak of brutal, dirty honesty and if you find me listening to it, I'm more than likely dancing in my seat, bopping my head along with the beat.
There is a Bonus Track, entitled Eine Kleine Booty Musik, with little to the lyrics, but it makes no difference. The beat alone is simply ripe for playing in clubs, so that you can watch people sway and move to it's beat. All in all, the entire album is worth the listen. Each song has it's own personality, it's own feeling to put forth and if you don't take the time to check it out, you are truly missing something here.
From PlastikSickness.com below:
Take ex-Cosmicity mastermind Mark Nicholas, let him name his album using the "porn name" formula, and you get some dirty electronic music. The back history (better read in full from his website) is a sad tale of a synthpop man jaded by the scene he so loved, and his realization one day he could turn that anger into some pretty damn fine music. In my opinion, he has succeeded!
"Duchess 33" is a collection of electro-laden synthpop, with Nicholas' distinctive vocals and a harder edge, more often brought out by the grittier edge of his arrangements. One thing I really like is that Nicholas varies in style on this album. He has club-friendly synthpop with a great beat (such as "Perverse"), some beautiful synthpop arrangements like on "I'm Trying To Impress You", and the next thing you know it's a deliciously smutty track like "Two Sandwiches" (one of my favorites). I did notice the album seemed to slow down and become more plaintive as it went on. If you're looking for a pick-up, the first half of the album will appeal to you more.
If you ever wanted the wit of Caustic or Voltaire in synthpop form, check this CD out. Of course you need to have a sense of humor, otherwise this album will likely offend you or fly over your head. Still, with the humor aside this is still a magnificently arranged album and deserves recognition.
From ConnexionBizarre.net below:
Known to many Synthpop fans around the world as the mastermind behind the band Cosmicity, Mark Nicholas' new project under his given name offers something quite different from what his audience is used to. Although the memorable melodies of Cosmicity are still present, something much dirtier and debauched has emerged in his music. To say a change has come into effect is quite simply an understatement! The days of good natured 80's influenced Synthpop have now seemingly been discarded to be replaced by dirty beats, twisted synth arrangements and perverse tongue-in-cheek lyrics. In other words, the era of dirty electronic has begun!
Being a fan of his work under the Cosmicity guise, hearing "Duchess 33" (a title derived from Mark's porn name!) really did come as a bit of surprise. To classify this album would be a difficult task for any reviewer, so to use the term 'Dirty Electronic' to describe it would more than likely be a sufficient and accurate term. To quote the man himself on the style of his music, this pretty much sums it all up."Depeche Mode bitch-slaps Trent Reznor right after he finishes screwing Allison Goldfrapp on soiled Prodigy-themed bedsheets. Oh, and still a little like Cosmicity too". As you can probably tell from that description this album is certainly diverse in every manner of speaking. Tracks such as "I'm Trying To Impress You", and "Green" both have hints of late 80's/ early 90's Industrial attached to them, not that dissimilar to that of early NIN. On other tracks such as "Perverse" and the insanely awesome and addictive "Two Sandwiches", Mark has quite clearly been influenced by the ever-growing underground Electro House scene. There are even elements of Hip-Hop in the track "Backlash", so you can probably see just why this album is so difficult to pin into one catergory. Lyrically the album's themes are that of sex, perversion, more sex, mid-life crisis', swearing, oh and did I mention sex?
With an album as diverse as this it really would be a chore to get bored of it so easily. Ok, the tail end of the album does unfortunately have some fairly weak tracks, but on the whole this album puts the fun back into music. If you like your music a bit zany, twisted and downright wrong at times then look no further, "Duchess 33" will deliver.
*Edit*
From Sideline Magazine below:
It is difficult to pin this album in one category. Flirting with electro, house, hip hop, synthpop and industrial this cd offers something diverse, fresh and different. Known as the man behind the band Cosmicity, M. Nicholas chose for, as he claims, a dirtier sound. This dirt can also be found in the lyrics; almost all the songs can be interpreted as stories about sex. Opener “Green” opens very smoothly with a driving bass line and sing along chorus. Another highlight is the very danceable “Perverse”-song. Half way the album “Two Sandwiches” caught my attention with its stomping 4/4 beat and sexy, twisted vocal production. “Little Goth Girl”, which makes me think of NIN, is another brilliant track, telling the story of somebody entering a goth club for the first time. Overall this album has a very bright, well produced sound and although the artwork could have been more glitchy and sexy this is a project which needs some attention, because this is modern music in the vein of artist like Tiga. (Noa:9)Noa.
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