best cover art of the year ?
ahh – but the question is which year, given that out there sounds as if it has been subjected to a form of twisted time travel during which music of the past and future are forged together under the careful supervision of someone who has a passion for old david axelrod and pharaoh sanders records.
released on now again (stones throw subsidiary), this epic 24 track, 68 minute, prog-jazz-space-funk beast has been on the wish list for many a fan of dj shadow/quannum collective type of productions.
the man behind this multi faceted project, malcolm catto, has helped create some burning drum loops for dj shadow, has decided to now step into the limelight and craft what is quite possibly his definitive statement of art and music in one complete package.
the music is fleshed out with a whole host of players (ie its not sample based as far as i can tell) who i’m sure to the real spotters will mean more to than me, but needles to say, these people are serious musicians who have put in the hours with their chosen instrument.
throughout the vocal free experience (bar a rap section during second chance), there is a lot of psychedelic looseness in the production, sounds are echoed, processed, and distributed all over the place, while at the centre are the funk heavy drums keeping everything else in check.
there aren’t any songs as such so don’t expect to be whistling any of these tunes on your way to work even after multiple listening, as out there consists of twenty-four varying jams, with sometimes a long forgotten piece of film dialogue, often about space and time, dropped over the top to add some form of narrative to the proceedings.
if you dig around in your dusty crates and rediscover those major force west compilations that mo’wax were known for, then you’re going to be in the same vicinity style wise.
the result of all the love and attention is a joy for anyone looking for an non-compressed antidote to the urgent stop start treble intense sounds that get most of the media love, as the music here is deep, very deep. man.
yes, there are flutes, and yes, a lot of acoustic stand up bass, but when surrounded by such wonderfully delicate experimentation you cannot help but be drawn into these other worldy atmospheric grooves.
or to put it more simply, fans of the cinematic orchestras more beat heavy releases are going to love this.
superb.
more detail : here
