but after mike & rich, _das ist eine groovybeat, ja?_, and now that insipid
gary moscheles record, it would seem the world is nearing
packed-to-the-gills with not-very-interesting takes on lounge-jazz-electro.
so, instead of moaning about how this or that record sucks, or how this or
that record is sub-par, i'll offer a more constructive (at least, for the
end user) form of criticism by way of a list of alternate records in a
similar vein that i think just bury the likes of the above. consider it a
collection of tracks for those who agree to disagree:
1. the last three or four cheap 12"s ("showroom recordings #2," sokol's
"mean clown welcome," "gerard deluxe" by gerard potuznik, etc.).
rhythmically complex, with vibes, double-bass, traps, etc. seamlessly fused
with dense, often quite musical percussion arrangments similar to plug,
vert, etc., but with not nearly the cheese and tons of breaks, diversions,
and out-and-out bizarre tangents. some of the tracks on these records even
*sound* like their being played in real-time by a band, and offer a glimpse
of what will likely become the future integration of live instruments and
electronics on the most outbound of combinations...
2. atom heart. duh. i'll name _ondas_--uwe's second record with tetsu inoue
as datacide--for more straight-ahead electro-jazz (they call it _future
lounge_ on the sleeve), as well as its predecessors _built_ (recorded with
victor sol under the name +n) and _brown_ (the long lost blank-sleeve
customs foiler!). these record are all over the place stylistically, but
wherever the go its usually with a clever smirk in its pocket, with tracks
bubbling up with rhumba and salsa rhythms, mid-tempo claves, loads of latin
percussion, etc. both are on rather interesting, as well as being same.
3. mung's "places" ep (on blue planet, plan2). this ep could be a full-on
record for how satisfied you feel after listening to it. another
style-skipper, but everything is fitted together so perfect you never
notice you started at jungle, edged over downbeat breaks,and worked on
through supafunk electro-boogie, be-bop, and jazzy electronica. and that's
just the first track! (see also: the bowling green's "mettle" ep.)
innovative? i hear this word tossed around with impunity on this list, and
am continually dismayed to see it applied to so many records which lack
even the remotest justification for its use. and especially in the face of
so much good music being released that's never even mentioned here...
ok, my apologies for any bent egos. back to the regularly scheduled hero
worship...
sc