Various Artists: THE FUTURE SOUND OF JAZZ
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1996 Instinct Records, EX334-2
An addictive comp!
Imagine Dave Brubeck after a year on the ambient list, and you'll catch the
general vibe.
Fundamentally groove-oriented, but subdued enough to cross over the
ambient/idm terra incognita. File the case under acid jazz, and the CD
under ambient dub. Would mix well with the Waveform A.D. series.
Some of the standout cuts:
The Aphex Twin remix of Gentle People's "Journey" is worthy of an
indefinite relisten. A fluid jazzy rhythm, breathy female sub-scat
vocals, lush lushness throughout. Brings illicit thoughts to mind...
Sven Van Hees does a jazzy "Tabla Rasa" (hip title) worthy of a laid-back
sixties jazz cafe, except for those twiddly knobly bubbly sounds, and the
evolution of the beat into a reverby dub. Just say yes.
Nightmares on Wax sets a sensuous mood with "Nights Interlude", which
drifts like perfect music for airports (copyright Eno Inc.), but could as
well be the perfect mood for erotic ambience. A retro organ balances
curiously against the electro(de) piano, nouveau muzak strings offset a
decidedly au courant dubwize beat.
Max 404 gets spooky on us with "Quiddity".
Fauna Flash breaks the mellow beats down while recycling "Sexual
Attraction", which sounds more like a tasty later phase than that of
attraction.
Shantel's "Nova Sola" throws us a sporadic jazz-inflected female vocal
melody line against a rhythm that would do Peter Gabriel's worldmuze clique
proud.
Personal second-fave (after the Gentle People cut) - the mu-Ziq track,
"Hector's House", which many probably already know. That greedy dirty
gritty scratchy sand-in-the-sandals beat runs through some wacked LFO,
while our prodigious and prodigal son meanders over the top with
inexplicably laid-back piano and synth solos. Messy, bratty and brilliant.
Anywaze, another worthy komp from Instinct, who also deserve kredit for
bringing all that beat-i-ful Ninja/Ntone noize to scattered and lucky
points in these vast United States of Aspiring Ambience.
Well, when the sun casts those long orange pre-Autumn shadows and gilds the
mirrored skyscrapers before sunset, even Philadelphia seems sadly
beautiful. Must be time to hit the road.
Enjoy!
Zenon M. Feszczak
Philosopher of Ambience