Send "Joker " Ringtones to your Cell 
| Sputnikmusic |
 How quickly Joker’s obvious intentions are revealed as his debut LP The Vision rolls out of the gate under a hard-nosed banner of crunchy basslines and rolling synths is surprising for a variety of reasons. Joker’s always held a place in the hearts of like-minded dubstep fans across the world, nonplussed by the events unfolding at a breakneck pace within the current American scene but still determined to have their pulses racing under the bass weight of the sub woofer culture. He crafted (note the past tense) weekend delights under the humbling pretense of intelligence, deftly splicing in the glitchy and broken rhythms of Flylo with the synthesized r&b of Timbaland and deftly hid it under the guise of bass music. As the current champion of the pioneering Bristol wonky scene (now continued on by the likes of Guido and Gemmy) he breathed new life into the dubstep world long before that genre decided to look far and wide for inspiration, and won acclaim for his deliberately intricate and scratchy beats (even managing to entice Flylo across the waters for a much heralded split).His intentions have always been written on the wall, and what more would you expect from someone looked to as an arbiter for change within the confines of such a ruthless and fraught genre of music. So yes, it is surprising when The Vision kicks off true and proper with ‘Here Come The Lights’, with its abundance of normality and strained pop mongering. Joker would seem like the unlikeliest contender for radio attention but he tries his hardest for some level of growth here, relegating himself to a supporting role, providing tutelage and stability for guest vocalist Silas to emulate (insert generic r&b radio sensation here) with suspicious and frankly, unsettling, results. While it probably wouldn’t have helped Joker’s cause anymore had he actually managed to rope in some more formidable talent, someone with a penchant for putting some weight into a catchy vocal hook certainly wouldn’t have hindered the attempt for crossover pretension (even though Jessie Ware deals out an impressive performance and comes out shining on the title track). Things do pick up here (mainly because there really is nowhere else to go) with early single ‘Tron’, an initially perplexing entry into Joker’s catalog but now works to his re-invented image as a bass heavy east coast hip hop imitator. Strands of his former self are deftly interwoven into the frame, and at times they do intermittently boil to the surface, but there’s a clear sense that whenever his old ways threaten to rise up and take hold of the track they’re quickly smothered in a wave of blatant accessibility that really only serves as a detriment to the immense talent that he has hidden up his sleeve; a trick that he used to display only all too frequently. And there are moments when he gives in to the obvious pressure, namely on album highlights ‘My Trance Girl’ and album closer ‘The Magic Causeway’ (a tag team effort with current “big thing” Ginz). The former is an abrasive marriage of grime and unflinching wobble, that while extremely conventional still fares with the best of them given the artist’s indelible flair. The latter dials the extremities back however, with the duo churning out a slow burning outer space funk jam that works precisely because of its placement....full text |
| Factmag |
| At the moment, in the land of kicks and snares the female vocal is undoubtedly king. Katy B helped make household names of Skream and Benga, Alys Blaze assisted Distance in attaining droves of Radio 1 airplay and D1 recently employed the vocal finesse of Jenna G in ‘Flood of Emotion’. These pairings seem to yield interesting, mixed results, ranging from arguably compromised sounds for the sake of chart accessibility to the emergence of the occasional full blown anthem, embraced by underground and mainstream facets alike. The latest single from Joker, ‘The Vision’ – led by former Sbrtrkt cohort Jessie Ware – thankfully, seems capable of the latter. ‘The Vision’ strikes a comfortable balance between the broken electronics we’ve come to expect from Joker and the sort of breathless hooks that shot Katy B to stardom; a legitimate pop song with the weight to inspire rapture in bass-weight worshipping throngs nationwide. Last year his remix of Simian Mobile Disco’s ‘Cruel Intentions’ garnered deserved widespread play, and ‘The Vision’ should really be the moment that Joker earns this mainstream praise entirely in his own right. The problem is, however, that ‘The Vision’ seems to be ever so slightly less than the sum of it’s parts. Undoubtedly, Ware’s vocals are made for the radio – ideal for impassioned sing-alongs – and Joker’s instrumental is a typically engaging exercise in synth mastery, but the song as a whole fails to really elevate itself to greatness, a strong track rather than an exhilarating, absorbing chart assault or underground anthem. Don’t get me wrong, this is the sort of track that a more mediocre producer would smash up his moog to have made, but from someone as historically brilliant as Joker it’s not unreasonable to have expected something more substantial....full text |
| Prettymuchamazing |
| UK dubstep expert Joker has been putting out some seriously good dance vibes over the last two years, including 09′s grimy “Purple City” anthem, and last year’s bass uproarious “Tron.” The virtuoso has just signed with the 4AD imprint (if you recall, fellow UK dubstep enthusiast Zomby just signed with them as well) and immediately upon doing so revealed that his debut on the label would be his upcoming 12” single, “The Vision.”...full text |
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