You know what I like about music? Of course you do, you’ve been reading Cerberus since we were a wee little column. But in case you haven’t and really because you don’t, allow me to be vain for one moment and tell you: suspense. It can come in any genre so long as something on a song, album, or video is unexpected and enthralling. It doesn’t need to be flashy and should never be telegraphed (hello dropped beats). This is why Smokey Emery is a favorite new find. Daniel Hipolito fits no mold and follows no blueprint. Though his tools are as worn from overuse as any in the experimental/noise/drone category, his duct tape and spit approach to keeping it all together provides surprise after surprise, even in the most calm of musical circumstances. Hipolito deftly maneuvers between found sounds and created moments, organically hitting the peaks and valleys of musical creation. But he never runs out of steam and always keeps you on your toes without forcefully adding a loud moment or quiet contemplation where they do not belong. He has tapped into the secrets of invisibility, only it’s his own of which he hails, not ours. Which is why I must be loud and make myself known in a review because if I can’t go unnoticed, I must BE noticed. Hipolito? He’s transcended.
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