Telepath – Fire One
Reviewed by Sadie O., 7/10/07
Dub/Reggae/Funk/Indian/Electronica… Basically one guy (Michael Christie) produces using lots of samples and guest musicians and vocal snippets. Although there’s a significant Reggae component (mostly in the beat of several cuts), it’s really a mashup of styles, and should be of interest to a pretty wide range of ears…
No FCCs – almost no English vocals. I like 1 and 8, all are good.
1. 6:46 ****starts with a bit of reverby electronics, then midtempo one-drop with shuffling beat, very Indian-sounding bits, and funky electric guitar. Gets REALLY funky after a minute and a half. Yay!
2. 5:01 ***electronic squeeps, then relaxed minimalist funky skank with bits of indistinguishable vocals. Melodica, sweet vibe.
3. 4:37 ***starts right off with funky midtempo beat, warbly electronics. Sitar and organ, nice bass work, too.
4. 6:07 **syncopated bounce with mellow electronics/keyboards and melodica. Gets increasingly complex and interesting.
5. 4:31 ***a bit of spoken rasta blessing, then downtempo skank, lots of dubby bits and electronics.
6. 2:04 *slow spacy electronics and sitar, tabla, bass, violins. VERY relaxed, pretty.
7. 3:59 ***funky march beat, bits of other instruments, “Could You Be Loved” guitar, a bit of dancehall rap.
8. 2:59 ****slightly downtempo roots dub skank. Bits of Middle Eastern-sounding vocals, thick layers of music.
9. 5:21 **electronics and bongos, relaxed vibe. Gets a bit thicker and funkier, with some nice sitar. A bit smooth-jazzy…
10. 5:38 ***uptempo bongo ‘n’ bass-driven funk with lots of keyboards. East Indian male vocals. Gets slightly too synth strings infected, then some wacky funked up electronic bits save the track.
11. 6:00 ***long ethereal electronics intro, then slow Nyahbinghi drumming and skank. LONG fade.