jamie liddel - multiply
been quite a long time coming this album, and for many within the press circles this album is exactly what they have all been waiting for. last time i heard any of jamie's vocals was in conjunction with his twisted electro funk with cristian vogel as part of super_collier. while they had their moments, it was at times rather hard work to really love, so i approached this album with some degree of caution.
the good news is that this is very listenable. admittedly, there are still a few parts here and there where jamie has mutated his trademark funk into new territories but for every difficult track there is a blinder of classic. if you have read up anywhere else on jamie liddel you will surely have read that his voice is special and recalls all manner of classic soul voices, well tis true. one moment you are enjoying the most sublime 60's soul funk blended with the promise of terence trent d'arby (the showstoppers that are 'multiply' and gorgeous 'whats the use', 'music will not last'), next it's a new swing to the man in the hat, jay kay with the slapped up bass, p-funk synths and upbeat electric piano riffs of 'when i come around'.
luckily though this short album doesn't have any of the stupidly fussy instrumentation that the j-band annoy me with, so even if we do get a little close, jamie always keeps it tight and right. none more so than on the classic prince like 'a little bit more', which comprises of a stripped down beat, layered vocal loops and vocals. stunning in its proof that 'less is more' while maintaining a totally funked up vibe, making these few minutes side step away from the usual, very special.
as expected, there are a couple of areas of discontent. 'newme' is a little too fast-rap-jazz for me, and 'the city' is like something mark stewart (of the glorious on-u sound system) would be proud of with its distorted vocal effects and beefed up beats, while the track is fine on its own, the sonic disharmony sticks out like a sore thumb and doesn't feel right amongst the rest of the album. thankfully, the induced stress is soothed by the most wonderful late night piano jazz double bill of 'what is it this time' and album closer 'game for fools', bringing the album to a wonderfully cool laid back conclusion.
despite these little niggles, if you require to have your spine moved, your emotions kicked into the summer vibe, and hear a skinny white man give it some of the best soul-funk this side of the millennium grab this fine album.
also, just so you know, the cd also comes with some intriguing video footage of the jamie liddel live show showing just how he manages to build up and manipulates his vocals with various techno-gadgets and live samples to create these future funk experiments from nothing. very clever.
fascinating in every aspect ratio and stereo system