With every unearthing of a “lost” record, it seems less likely that a true masterpiece is still waiting to be found. It is, then, a special event when a much-mythologized classic comes to light, as Kenny Dope has done with Manzel’s Midnight Theme. Already familiar to the masses as a heavily sampled record, Dope and partner the Undercover Brother re-edited this paragon. Clearly a studio project, Manzel forgoes a “band” sound in sake of crystalline production and solos whose existence seems to be that of an arrangement enabler. Sharing in similar rhythmic and structural concepts as Herbie Hancock’s Man Child (not to mention an almost identical keyboard set up) Midnight Theme relies less on virtuosic performance than killer dance floor sensibilities.
Phil Ranelin Inspiration
From the progressives at Wide Hive comes this surprisingly tame, almost traditional set of genteel post-bop jazz. Ranelin is an unsung trombone hero of the 1970s Detroit free-funk scene, but here he settles into a relaxed, burnished mood marked by lush horn parts and elegant soloing. His nine-piece band includes several saxes, piano, bass clarinet, upright bass, drums and percussion, arranged with a natural grace that never seems overcrowded or abrasive, reminiscent of the early ’60s Blue Note catalog. “This One’s For Trane” stands out as the album’s most compelling, ascendant scorcher thanks to an inspired excursion by the legendary Pharaoh Sanders.
Slaughter Mob L’Amour
The bass on “L’amour” wraps around your body like an anaconda, dragging you into its sinister quicksand. “Guns N Bones” is the soundtrack to a 22nd-century drive-by laser blasting. The metallic drum beats cock back and then thrust forward at warp speed; it’ll make your knees buckle.
Various Artists Antologia De Musica Electr€nica Portuguesa
This document of Portugal’s electronic composures (oddly enough) parallels-aesthetically and chronologically-the establishment and resurgence of New York’s no-wave movement led by experimental composures like Glenn Branca. Isabel Soveral’s sonic shots of blips and bleeps are countered by the warm lulls of the duo Telectu and the naturalistic storm sounds of Emanuel Dimas de Melo Pimenta. This antologia captures Portugal’s earliest experiments in sound (1972) as well as its most recent innovators (1997) and puts the country on the avant-garde map.
Brian And Chris 3
San Franciscans Brian and Chris’s dexterous mix of organic instruments with detours into a cyclical, synthetic world is what gives 3 its narcotic tone. The duo also manages to make acoustic guitar seem like a natural match to a parallel, computerized hum. Despite all that, their focus on the organic and their quick shifts between shadowy and bright just add up to the same melancholy melodies that emo and post-rock bands have been kickin’ out for a decade now. All Brian and Chris do is give it a refresher with their drum machine. Too bad that’s not new either.
Octet Cash And Carry Songs
The high-speed harpsichord and tender tenor vocals that mark Cash and Carry Songs‘ opening track, “Hey Bonus,” are a perfect intro to the radiance of Octet’s twisted-up pop. That sort of contradictory lush-minimalism is to be expected from a French electronica duo. The way Octet strums their synthesizers as if they’re classical strings and manipulate their mixers with a sleight of hand is hard to resist and makes even the trite lyrics that accompany their forays into r&b easily forgiven. Moving from instinctive instrumentation to concise composition, Octet puts together a record of finely crafted dance tracks.
The Dirty Criminals Organized Confuzion
I’d forgotten that techno could be so, well, grim. In Organized Confuzion, no one’s fucking around here; even the sleaziness of the bounce sounds dead serious. No panty playtime for the Dirty Criminals! They’ve got their brows furrowed and their jaws firmly set. Fools are working, and hard. Like repetitive, determined techno? Grind your teeth away to this one, kids.
Vector Lovers Vector Lovers
Someone’s neon-rose plasma-screen robo-electro wet dream could be perfectly soundtracked by Vector Lovers. Musician Frankie Howerd, self-proclaimed “manga mad,” would surely approve of legions of delicately drawn perky booties getting it on to his light, bubbly tracks. It’s standard bright pink electro, the kind that’s obsessed with a fetishized vision of droids and Japan. I’m all for fantasizing, but I can’t help but wish that this particular musical fantasy were a little more inventive and twisted. The Robot Danceteria path is already well-trod.
J-Boogie’s Dubtronic Science Purple Perpendicual
San Francisco’s J-Boogie is a lot of things: club DJ, bandleader, musician, radio host and an uncommonly cool dude who’s famous for his fly headgear. But all that is secondary to the barrage of hip-hop, dubby downtempo and Latin-percussion beats he creates, like this single, where he flashes his club-friendly hip-hop side, with MCs P.E.A.C.E., Rashaan Ahmad, Zion, Deuce Eclipse, and Tony Moses offering their takes on the world’s pressures. The music is as smooth as J’s chapeaux.
Various Artists Africa Underground Vol 1: Hip-Hop Senegal
DJs from LA to Bergen are championing this essential compilation, which radiates sinister undertones with its minor chords and muddled beats, and whose lyrics are swarming with political and social consciousness. Slam Revolution takes the police to task on “Begguma” while Yat Fu channels “Sunday Bloody Sunday” for its backing instrumentation on “Art Attendan.” On the standout track “Shiffai,” Shiffai (“the remedy” in Arabic) raps in a mix between Wolof (Senegal’s national language) and English, and his laid-back beats and playful lyrics evoke something of a Senegalese Jay-Z. Senegal shows the rest of the world it’s time to step up on this aggressively graceful CD.
