Updated December 2002
Artist : CHRIS COCO
Titles : - NEXT WAVE
Label : DISTINCTIVE
Format : CD
A busy man, Mr Coco, but still surprising it s taken him so long to getting round to completing this, his first fully-fledged artist album. Well worth the wait, it s as eclectic in spirit as his Blue Room radio show and Solar Spectrums compilations but never loses its sense of direction and never makes the mistake of confusing chilled-out with lightweight.
Carefully and imaginatively, Coco and his co-producers Sacha Puttnam and Lenny Ibizarre juggle away with enough rhythmic muscle to keep all their atmospheric balls in the air at the same time. There are guest vocals from Nick Cave and Monica Queen as well as spoken word contributions from Patrick Bergin and Iain Banks, and the legendary lost guitarist Peter Green guests on an ice cool version of his 60s F******** Mac classic, Albatross .The Only Michael
Title : THE RICHEST MAN IN BABYLON
Artist : THIEVERY CORPORATION
Label : ESL
Format : CD / LPThis is another sumptiously produced album from the Washington-based masters of smooth lounge. As their third 'proper' studio album I was keen to see how if compared to the previous two. Their debut, Sounds From The Thievery Hi-Fi, was a revelation at the time - one of the finest downbeat dub lounge albums of the recent years. In its follow up, The Mirror Conspiracy, they widened out the sound to incorporate Afrobeat and Latino rhythms and included more tracks with vocals. Overall this was something of a disappointment.
Its usually meant to be the third album which is the difficult one, as Billy Bragg so rightly said, but in this case the Thievery Corporation swapped the chronology around a bit. They have followed a difficult second album with a return to form. Lets not hide the fact that with the album you will get what you expect from TC. There's no surprises, no new directions and definitely no introduction of electroclash, razor guitar riffs and Rolf Harris does not make an appearance.
This may mean that the album will disappoint a lot of people who may view TC as stagnating their sound. But for those who can accept no new grand design the album should delight. The Thievery boys have found themselves in a niche of bass-proud lounge chillout they are willing to continue with. There is the mix if dub, breaks, Latino and Afrobeat as before, there are the mix of the beautiful female vocals and dread style toasting as before, there is the minimlist, clean instrumentation as before, there is the superb, clear production with allows you to hear and place every instrument as before. As such, it is firmly in the lounge/wine bar end of the chillout musical spectrum but it will also make a perfect night in with the headphones and Mr Jazz s swing cigarettes.
Personally, I love it and don't mind it sounds much like the last two albums - partly because I'm a big fan of the Thievery Corporation and partly because as it brings together the elements of their previous releases it leaves the detritus behind in favour of some of the best of tracks of their releases to date. Never mind there's even a cheeky inclusion of a remix of one of the tunes on 'Hi-Fi'. UD
Artist : FRAGILE STATE
Titles : - THE FACTS & THE DREAMS
Label : Bar de Lune
Format : CD
Fragile State aka Ben Mynott and Neil Cowley have made a magnificent escapade into soulful, blissed out soundscapes. The facts and the dreams has that certain something that takes it beyond the bland "this is chill out No 47" compilations that cover the racks ( and soon the bargain bins?) in Woolies. Being the keyboard player from Zero 7 (Neil Cowley) might help with your pedigree, there is no denying that both Cowley and Mynott are good musicians. It is the musicianship that stands out, not in a "musical wanking" type way more in a polished pleasing on the ear and effortless way.
The album has ethnic tinged numbers (that sound like a good Deep Forest), minimal soundscapes where the listener is left to wonder in and out of the holes Fragile State don't fill and jazzy cinematic numbers that never disappear into noodlesville.
Critics could consign the album to wine bar muzak, but that would be cheap lazy journalism. The album is complex yet airy, sharp yet very blunted and to reject this beautiful recording would be a huge mistake. Fragile State have the ability to cross over into mainstream.If the plaudits being given it are to be believed it could well be a winter grower that hopefully will bring deserved recognition to the duo.
Buy this for a christmas present instead of "Pan Pipe Chill Out Moods" and watch your relatives float off into the night chasing santas glittery trail. Chill out album of the year? Very possibly !!
UD
Title : APRICOT MORNING
Artist : QUANTIC
Label : TRU THOUGHTS
Format : CD / LP
Quantic’s second album for Tru Thoughts is another showcase for his hi-tech one-man band style talents. Nothing here is quite as strong as the epic title track, but Mr Russell expands the range of his distinctive brand of discreet, chilled funk with the trip-hop / jazz crossover of ‘Wider than the sky’, through the floor filling soul of ‘Sweet Calling’ to the Defunkt-style workout of the closing ‘Off the Beaten Track’.
Guest vocalists Alice Russell, EQ and Aspects all make their distinctive contributions to the Quantic vibe and you’re pretty much guaranteed to be hearing this blasting out of open windows over what’s left of the summer. The Only Michael
Artist : BACKINI / LEON NINE
Titles : - CHAMPAGNE FLUTE/ - SMUT
Label : LUMENESSENCE
Format : 12"
A stylish matching pair of EPs from Brighton’s Lumenessence label, home and brainchild of Tiresias. Backini serves up a sparkling mix featuring not only the promised flute but some lush strings, treated guitar and neat vocal hook over a growling acidy bass line and crunchy drum beats. The b-side tracks are more muted and (dare I say) trip-hoppy, with ‘25’ in particular sounding like fried-up leftovers from late 90s Bristol.
Leon Nine’s ‘Smut’ blends a hypnotic lo-fi dancefloor beat with some sharp funk guitar, proving that two notes can be more than enough as long as they are the right ones. Sweeping and swooping samples lead to a cool ‘keep on dancing’ filtered vocal breakdown and the whole thing simmers away with space to breathe. On the other side, ‘Rock Tight’ does just that while ‘Does it matter’ flavours its minimal groove with washes of spaced-out synth. The Only Michael
Title : MOLE PRESENTS :
LISTENING PEARLS
Artist : VARIOUS
Label : MOLE
Format : CD
An aptly titled budget compilation from Germany’s premier downtempo electronic label ( so they say ). It’s good stuff too, with Gabor Deutsch, Lemongrass and Felka all making smooth high quality contributions and Naomi’s ‘Curious’ featuring a new voice that could go far in Selda Kaya. Hungary’s Yonderboi provides the standout moment for me with ‘Road Movie’blending twangy atmospheric guitars with some deceptively laidback beats and grippingly eccentric wandering harmonica. There are some cheesy moments too (names withheld to protect the innocent) but if you’ve got £5.99 to spare and you happen to be passing, it’s well worth a go. The Only Michael
Title : VOODOO DRAGON RISING
Artist : Z STARR
Label : VOODOO DRAGON RECORDS
Format : CD
Ah joy of joys, that rare moment of discovering the early talents of a new artist. The one in mind here being Z star- Z’s first album is the domain of a multi instrumentalist who sings plays and produces all of the tracks herself.
This album was released in 2000 and is an amazing release. The vibe is of a streetwise songwriter whose lyrics pull no punches and the music and production sits alongside accordingly "I’m a ruff gal.” she proudly intones. The overall sound quality and production for an album without an Oasis style budget is remarkable as Z fuses blues dub and hip hop into strong song based material with the occasional ballad thrown in.
If this serves as a tantalising glimpse of what she is able to do live then I will be at the front. “Murder, murder, murder hey.” Playing regularly in London with a new album pending. Smart Monkey
29/11/02 Checkout our brand new interview with ZStar
Title : DARKNESS & LIGHT
Artist : SUBCULTURE SOUND SYSTEM
Label : ELECTRON SOUL RECORDS
Format : CD
Released on their own label this is Subculture SoundSystem's debut release. 'Darkness & Lights' vibe leans much more towards the former than the latter & these post millennium dubs would most suit the chill out rooms of the super club all niter. Which is in fact the scene that the Subculture Soundsystem emerges from, so that figures.Top tracks include 'Eurostar' whose melody brings to mind Kraftworks 'Autobahn' album, whilst the riddim is a deep sub driven, post club ride. The perfect 5 A.M sunrise dub is provided here in the form of 'Chimera' complete with its soothing melody lines, earth shaking b-line & oblique samples. The albums penultimate track 'Empty Streets' is the nearest Subculture come to the traditional dub sound with its skanking keyboards & dub b-line.
A very digital / midi tools experience that would have benefited from a smattering of live / organic instrumentation. As it never, really, escapes the feel of programmed beats. That said, on the whole this is a great debut. More for your experimental leaning listener than your average purist roots fan. This is after all dub for the 21st century. Bimble
Artist : COPPE
Titles : PAPA MY BUDDAH / PEPPERMINT
Label : MANGO & SWEET RICE
Format : CD
Quirky pop styled eclectic electronica outta Honolulu, Hawaii. Coppe has a style all her own which at times brings to mind elements of other great female icons such as Bjork, Laurie Anderson and Marilyn (Monroe not Manson). Both these albums would suit a release on Warp records or N-Tone (the eclectic wing of Ninja Tune)
'Papa My Buddha' opens with the lullaby tones of 'Pomegranate..' which gives way to 'When It Rains / Click' featuring a laid back and soothing vocal from Coppe backed by a trip hop style rhythm. Other high lights include 'Silver Seasick'- a multi layered vocal piece where Coppes Japanese heritage shines through backed by R.Breens catchy B-lines and tech step rhythm. Another highlight is the excellent 'Blue' which should be released as a single, a laid back summer vibe full of whispered vocals, tremolo guitars and a down tempo break, lovely. Ex Orb man Kris 'Thrash' Weston produces the music on the vaguely unsettling 'Incubate'. 'Bones And Ashes' breathy intro becomes even more unsettling when you read the sleeve notes and discover the breath sounds are samples of the oxygen machine keeping Coppe's father alive when he was dieing of cancer. In fact this whole album was created under the shadow of this obviously difficult time. A fact that underpins but never over rides this highly recommended release.
On 'Peppermint' things move more towards a chilled dance vibe complete with remixes from the e likes of Plaid, DJ Vadim and others. Plaid collaborate on three tracks 'My Hard Boiled Egg' the albums opener is a very chilled affair with Coppes unique styled voicings and atmospheres sitting nicely on top of Plaids subtle beatastic backing. 'Jan + Jeff + Jungle Curry' is a much more frenetic affair that takes the sound further towards the dance floor but manages never to lose sight of it's originators eclectic essence. Later on in the album Plaid turn up again to remix 'Atlantis Is Kushti Ed'. A mellow down beat groove of epic proportions. DJ Vadim produces the wonderfully eclectic 'Vad'. A combination of 909 drums, acoustic guitar loops, vibes style keyboard lines and multi layered vocals complete with fake (?) orgasms from Coppe. R. Breen who Coppe collaborated with on the aforementioned 'Papa My Buddha' album is featured here on the Orange City remix of 'Vad', where the original vocal and guitar lines act as a precursor to the riddim flying off on an all to brief frenetic drum and bass vibe. Of the tracks not already mentioned I'd site as high lights the sublime 'Jelly Omelette' and its following 'Jelly Dub'. Also the Double Bass driven 'Mark B..b..b.Gun' and finally 'Naisyo' the CD's multi twisting and hypnotic hidden sixteenth track.
On the evidence of these albums I'd say that Coppe is a true free spirit who is never afraid of pushing her musical boundaries. These albums are both strong and well worth seeking out, with for my money 'Papa My Buddha' having the slight edge. Shine On.
Artist
: GUARDNER
Artist
: DJ SHADOW
Artist
: THE MIGHTY QUARK
Title
: SYSTEMWIDE
