Album Review: Speakerbot - I Dream in Ones and Zeros

I am very excited to share this post with everyone today! Like... So. Freaking. Excited. Two things. TWO EXCITING THINGS! First, I'm going to talk about this cream cheese pound cake pictured to the right. And then about my favorite Robot's debut album he dropped last week!

I know what you're thinking - "Hey Becca, stop showing us pictures of baked goods in artsy hipster ways - we came here for music and to read and listen to Speakerbot's debut album, 'I Dream in Ones and Zeros' - not to stare at things we can't eat. When will you stop?"

And I'm thinking, "Hey you, first, thanks for reading! But...this is my blog, so if I want to post the most delicious thing I've ever baked
(S E R I O U S L Y, P E O P L E), then I will. Haven't you learned anything after 6 months of reading?!"

Maybe I just tried a piece of it so I could tell you about the most perfect pound cake ever. Like, in my bed in my yoga pants and sweatshirt (don't judge me?). Because..life is hard sometimes and you should eat cream cheese pound cake. Or come over and I'll shove pound cake in your face and we can have dance parties in my kitchen together while listening to "Robotrip" (more on this later).

So now that I've wasted 5 minutes of your life showing you examples of conversations inside my head, let's get down to business shall we? I'm not sure if I can say anything else about Speakerbot because if you've been reading DPC, you know we love him. His Guest mix in September had me dancing up a storm in my hotel room in New Orleans and his, "Lounging Like a Bot" mix released in January kept me entertained all weekend as I worked.

It only seems fitting, and completely true, that I am 100% totally obsessed with this album, and believe you should be too (if you aren't already!). I guess it wasn't until I really started appreciating music that I realized that every song in its place has a purpose. Bands, DJs, artists... they don't just pick to have a track be the first because they feel like it - there is meaning behind it. #deepthoughts

The 11-track album Speakerbot (Aashish Bansal) cranked out for music lovers has been over a year in the making, and after listening to the album from start to finish - numerous times - I can tell you that there's something for everyone. It's got deep stuff, disco stuff, house stuff, minimal stuff, and AWESOME stuff strewn about and I couldn't get over the so-called journey I was taken on from beginning to end. The first track of the album, "Modulation" gets things going with a housey-edge and towards the last minute some electro beats are thrown in to take us into "Knobs and Lites", an ambient house track with a tribal feel and some killer vocals.

My favorite part of the entire album was probably the segue into "Robotrip" as things began to pick up. I'm not sure what I expected with this track seeing as how the only time I've heard "Robotrip" was in context with kids downing an entire bottle of Robitussin. BUT, if this is what you hear while you're "Robotripping", please count me in. I want a psychedelic dance party going on in my head all. the. time.

If track titles could really convey the meaning (which they should), I would say Speakerbot was dead on with all of the track titles. It's not something I pay attention to necessarily, but I couldn't get over the similarities with reading a title and it matching the song perfectly (please listen to 'Just a Comment').

The album ended nicely with "Check Under Your Hood", a darker house track that indefinitely left me wanting more. So hear that, Speakerbot? We want more mechanical madness ;) Speakerbot has the album for download on his website and you can also stream it below - it's a "name your price," but if we want to hear more, please look into donating! Super easy and super worth it.


He'll be making his way to Lift Festival over St. Patrick's day weekend, so if you like dancing and mountains - that is totally your party. We also know friends of DPC, Business Casual Disco, will be there too! And, if we're ever so lucky, perhaps we have something cooking with our fellow Robot friend for the near future - so give this a listen (especially you, DC/MD/VA people) because if you haven't been acquainted with him yet, this album will surely get you ready.