Rating: 8/10
Those supportive of the Anticon’s prog hip-hop cause may recall the notable track “Unseen Sights,” on which part of the label’s crew paid reverence to the Munich indie pop papists, The Notwist. Well, I believe the reverence was reciprocal enough to craft a dusty beats-based work punctuated by the filigree-like voice of Markus Acher. It was the first collaborative effort made available to the public between those two masterminds. For your listening pleasure, the track is still available for download on the Anticon website in case you have missed the train or want to refresh your mind.
Men of Station b/w Soft Atlas is not a proper split record, but rather, as the title suggests, the first two takes from the self-titled full-length due out in April plus two interesting bonus remixes by Hrvatski and Why? & Alias. The opener “Men of Station” and the more hermetic “Soft Atlas” are both sweet n’ sour cuts that obviously allow cross-fertilization of ideas, influences and methodological approaches.
13 & god is a combo which shows an ability seldom observed in other two halves projects: a strong need to find blood correlatives for what were once exclusively pop gem sensibilities or the dark sides of hip-hop and instrumental, critical beats. Doseone, Jel and Dax (representing Themselves) work from the inside of sound and allow enough space for Acher’s vocals to emerge, expand and extrapolate the often asymmetric rhythms done by the former.
The half of the record steeped in remixes, aligned back-to-back with the two main stands, does an appealing job in challenging the levels of instinctual response of the body. While the too-complex, six-minute long “L’atlas Flexible/Von Gradleute”, reworked by Hrvatski, will baffle and infuriate most listeners, it’s too judgemental to dismiss the guys as petulant taunts. Irrespective of its intricacy, the track encloses humanly impossible glitchy works only premiered by the common ear at gunpoint, but should be praised specifically for that.
There’s an astounding pleasure in transgressing the orthodox instrumental resources and discovering new forms of floor-crawling experiences. “Into the Trees” is a sing-along mashup that risks falling into the cracks of history, where Why? & Alias rub shoulders with the German folks in a far-off cooperation.
Anticon has been my altered hip-hop ghetto for some years now, and The Notwist are an equally challenging ensemble for me. So a joint venture the size of this one is like winning a scholarship in Music Production with the chance to travel around the world, taxes and fees included. Although it is not far off, I’m feverously praying for April to come.
http://www.lostatsea.net/review.phtml?id=1570245207424822254b311
Sem comentários:
Enviar um comentário