8.19.2007

Another five to round out your weekly 10


Michael Fakesch-Dos (!K7)(US)
In his first post-Funkstorung release, Michael Fakesch teams up with vocalist Taprikk Sweezee for mixed results. Dos is actually Fakesch's second solo release, hence the name, although he calls 1999's Marion more of a collection of tracks than an actual solo release. While his latest conjures images of Funkstorung's groundbreaking work with lots of clickin' and bouncin' uber alles, Dos is too reliant on a Prince meets Bernie Worrell style of 80s electro funk than any real sort of German techno edge that would have had the album sounding less like a Nelly Furtado/Timbaland collabo. While a track like the disk opener "Escalate" may at first seem catchy after repeated listens I was left to wonder when Justin Timberlake was going to show up sporting a bare chest gobbling gibberish about his "sexy back" or some other junkie jive horsecrap. I'm afraid this one is a little too mainstream for my tastes, give me Modeselektor instead!

The Politik-S/T (Milan)(US)

First off let me say that the folks at Milan are some of the nicest, most dedicated music heads out there AND the imprint is run by the most vile of the major labels, Warner Brothers. Just goes to show you can't always judge folks by with who they associate with. Milan is fresh off dope releases from young bucks Landau and the godlike comp From LA With Love, which is till finding its way into my DJ sets, now comes the eponymous debut from The Politik. Comprised of Bugz In The Attic's Bembe Segue and ivory tickler extraordinare Mark de Clive-Lowe, this album seemed destined after the two paired with great results on de Clive-Lowe's Tide's Arising long player. A West London real broken beat thriller this pairing mean business with some no-nonsense soul jams that owe as much to 70s funk and afrobeat as they do a proper house or hip-hop danceclub. Great production (with some nice assists from the always molten Waajeed and Daz-I-Kue of Bugz In The Attic) accents Bembe's always marvelous vocal stylings, you can just feel the passion oozing from his phrasing, and Mark's inspired key touching.
Be sure to check the exclusive Politik mix tape by Chris Cox to have a listen for yourself:
www.milanrecords.com/blogsongs/PolitikMixtape.mp3

David Aaron-Live @ Lost On Main 4/13/07
David Aaron's visit to Chico for a Future/Now party was a real treat. None of us here were sure of what kind of underground styles DJs are presenting over in Reno. David showed us all it was pretty much the same kinda nu pschidt we are diggin out here in Cali, plus he played it really well and packed the dancefloor to capacity. He oozes supreme confidence on the decks even if all of the tracks were hot back in 2006 (in other words don't expect many surprises) and is a super nice guy to boot. A top selection of electro house served up Dirtybird style.
David Aaron's download available here:
Live At Future/Now 4/13/07


Mocean Worker-Cinco De Mowo! (Mowo!)(US)
Adam Dorn, son of legendary jazz producer Joel Dorn, is as talented a musician and producer as you will ever find. The fact that he chooses to make dance music has always been a mystery to me. His albums have always been immaculate and flawless in a genre more know for it's cheap disposability than any sort of Teo Macero perfectionist tendencies. Ghetto cheapness has been born out of necessity as dance music producers constantly compete for space in DJs record crates and charts. Sooner is always better than later on that side of the biz. And that is where I feel Adam has suffered, he is not connected to the dancefloor and being holed-up in a studio making perfect music has always put him behind the times when it comes to his relevance. Take his latest for instance, Cinco De Mowo! , it sounds amazing but come on do we really yet another re-working of cats like Les McCann & Eddie Harris and Raashan Roland Kirk? It all comes across as very 2003 and while that's great, please save that for the 40 year-old white guy with (or without) ponytail and his $40,000 sound system complete with a Beemer and not me. Pass.

Wax Tailor-Hope & Sorrow (Decon)(US)
A nice mix of turntablism and dusty grooves from Frenchmen JC le Saout, unfortunately the turn-back-the-clock Bristolian trip-hop excursions of Hope & Sorrow seem well past their prime. Liking this album is akin to saying that Aerosmith is a highly stylized clone of the Rolling Stones. Wax Tailor does his best to update and ape his heroes (DJ Shadow, Massive Attack, and Portishead) ala Aerosmith and adds some nice ornate, orchestral pastiches to the crackly boom-baps but breathes little life into this musically dead end genre.





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