Holding Space by James L. Venable

It was worth the wait!

Venable, who DJ'd during his apprenticeship, returned to his roots for "Holding Space" with excellent results. It's a high energy, thumpin' bass techno/dance/electronica club mix that's easy to get into. He adds interest to his compositions with loops and unexpected jaunts into other styles like a folk reggae section in "Take Off Your Clothes", and a nearly heavy metal guitar phrase in the same track. Venable wrote and produced all the tracks. Performance and production are both high quality.

I am impressed by this CD. There is a lot here to like. It's extremely danceworthy and it's fun to listen to. His background in films tends to come through and I kept thinking certain riffs sounded like they belonged in a soundtrack. That doesn't detract from the project in any way. If you listen to techno, dance or drum and bass check this disc out.

Key tracks: Take Off Your Clothes, Jack in the Club

Reviewed by: John Venvertloh

Review © Copyright 2004 1340mag.com.

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Splendidezine.com

Holding Space is intensely joyful, packed to the rafters with four-on-the-floor house beats -- it's as if the club-happy Fatboy Slim had composed the Fight Club soundtrack instead of the darker Dust Brothers. Even the token moody numbers can't hold their pose for too long, or they'll end up bright and upbeat. The songs are varied enough to work well for luncheon-time listening, but the album as a whole might be more helpful in motivating you to do home calisthenics or upbeat paperwork.

-- Cody Dematteis

Review © Copyright 2004 Splendid WebMedia.

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Hybrid Magazine

Dasher: Cartoon composer makes good with quirky electronica. Great off-kilter beats and cool synths.

Donner: This collection of highly syncopated, orchestrated electronics shows why he's the new Danny Elfman.

Prancer: Crazy, funky electronica with a jungle beat flava.

Vixen: Great collection of fast paced songs, plus hearing Samurai Jack demos is awesome.

Review © Copyright 2004 Hybrid Magazine.

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Live Magazine

Holding Space James L. Venable www.screamingfan.co Hold on to your hats, kids. It an all out techno attack thanks to James L. Venable. Who is this Venable cat, you ask. Why none other than the vato who created the music for Samurai Jack and the PowerPuff Girls. Now, don't try and play the square and tell me you ain't heard of these modern day masterpieces. Yes, nothing yells out I'm living the good life better than a bag of pork rinds, a six of Schaffer's Premium Low Carb and the visual feast of few episodes propagandizing good guy or gals kicking booty on some demon ninja fighters or screaming maniac monkeys. But wait folks, let me tell you about the music, which just happens to be great if you are into that techo stuff. Venable has put together a nice set of pulsating beats and sound bites that go great with all the flashing lights and shenanigans at your next rave. Venable breaks right in with an eight-minute dance mix called Welcome To The World, which is an excellent method of introducing his madness. My favorite track, you ask? Why I done loved Happy Ending, which is another snapping, happy effervescent number. This one with sound bites of an Asian sounding babe yakking about some itchy spot she needs yoked, or something close to that. I found the entire CD very upbeat and entertaining with additional high marks for the slower paced Harley Quinn, which explores a slightly surreal sound reminiscent of red and green smoke colliding with strobe light partials becoming a waterfall of techo torrent cooling a super hyped up, jumping, thumping, soles gone wasted, need new shoes and a chiropractor crowd below. And least I forget you'll get an added bonus: Original test music for Samurai Jack as well as two PowerPuff Girls demos. Which are so fun to crank up as you speed down to the next party.

-Victor Chavez

Rated A+

Review © Copyright 2004 Live Magazine.

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BVSReviews.com

Jim's Electronic Masterpiece

Bruce Von Stiers

You might not know the name James Venable. But if you watch The Powerpuff Girls, Samurai Jack, have seen Jersey Girl, Scary Movie 3 or Jay & Silent Bob strike Back you have heard his music. Jim, as he likes to be called, has composed over 500 minutes of music for The Powerpuff Girls. Jim's music is featured on several soundtrack albums. He also recorded a debut album with his own material. This album is titled Holding Space. It is being released on Venable's own label, Screaming Fan Records. The album is full of hot electronic dance and techno tracks.

The album has 11 songs for 59 minutes of play time. All the material on the album was written by Jim and he also produced it.

You are treated to a surreal intro on the first track, Welcome to the World. But it doesn't last long. Immediately you are hit with a drum laden dance track. A deep voice tells you things as the music is pounding. You expect this guy to emit a demonic laugh at any time. It is a bopping tune that lasts over 8 minutes.

The second song has a girl chanting something in Japanese. This song is Happy Ending. It is a song with Oriental flavoring mixed in with a peppy techno beat.

Take Off Your Clothes is next. It is a definite mixed bag of dance and techno sounds. A funny part in it is a voiceover that asks if you know that bad girls go to heaven.

Move The Top is a techno funk piece. Harley Quinn has a suspense filled sound at first. It is almost like Jim had a mystery/ thriller in mind when writing this track. Wild Thing is a strange but fun dance track.

Party Boy has a bunch of different sounds mixed together. There is some vocalizations by both a woman talking about the party boy and the guy himself.

The last regular track on the album is Jack In The Club. It has a lot of techno buzz worked around a drum track.

The album also has two demos from the Powerpuff Girls and a song that Jim calls Samurai Original Test Music. The Puff demos are a wild mix of sounds that you can hear on the show. The samurai track is fairly intense, with you just imagining Samurai Jack racing through the bamboo jungle.

"Holding Space has a lot to like. The album has a bunch of techno, dance and electronica tracks that will just knock your socks off. It's no wonder that Venable is a much in demand electronic music composer. And for fans of Samurai Jack and The Powerpuff Girls, the album's extra cuts are sure to please."

Review © Copyright 2004 Bruce E Von Stiers. www.BVSReviews.com

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