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Morgan Page has broken new ground. The Vermont-raised artist who, in his teens, began his forte in electronic music, has white-labeled his own album and clearly states, within the CD sleeve, to “rip it, share it, burn it, love it”. And love it, I do. Using ProTools at his Silver Lake, Los Angeles studio with only one of the split tracks, he’s morphed tracks into newer versions of themselves. Featuring unauthorized remixes from artists such as Cold Play, David Bowie, Esthero, and others, Page turns the tracks into upbeat, dancefloor-friendly rhythms with plenty of intro beats to mix in with. Key moments of Cease And Desist are Imogen Heap’s “Hide and Seek” which Page lays the groundwork for the vocals into an energetic, happy vibe that had me immediately putting it into my favorites playlist. Through track five, the vibe is very feel good music – upbeat and emotive. With track six, the mood turns harder, darker, and more towards electro, with The Kills “The Good Ones”. Continuing on, the vibe stays dark, the rhythm turns towards tribal house, and the vocals are minimal in “Tijuana for Dummies” by Hiperboreal. Staying on with a darker vibe, slower tempo, and back towards the electro sound, is Page’s take on David Bowie’s “New Killer Star”. “Symphony #9” by Antone Dvorak – is dark classical that meets up with some breaks, blips, and bleeps. Taking things out, Page wraps up the sultry vocals of Norah Jones [from her Wax Poetic days] into a sexy, minimal, tribal-esque version of “Angels”. It may start out with a touch of sadness, but turn around it does - in its final moments, it’s uplifting and tasty sweet. Cease And Desist is an interesting mix of sounds and styles with an overall upbeat vibe and wonderful emotional factor that brings to life the often mechanical sound of electronic music. In addition, it’s nicely mixed with all the vocals and instruments keenly placed within the soundscape thereby allowing each component its own needed space. For an up-and-coming artist, Cease And Desist is a very mature album with refreshing production and sound design of someone well beyond his years. The album is downloadable from his website at www.morgan-page.com -- review by Jules Mari
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