A somewhat jarring change of pace from Paris Techno/House DJ extraordinaire and co-founder of the legendary F Communications record label Laurent Garnier. For the first time he’s taken things in the dub/downtempo direction, and with mixed results. Some of the tracks come off as reincarnation of his old classic Detroit-techno compositions (“Sound of the Big Babou”, “The Man with the Red Face”, “Crispy Bacon”, etc.) stripped of their beat [/soul]. A few cuts do feel like genuinely original dub compositions though, and the album is worth a spin. But please, if you like what you hear, go check out either “30” or “Unreasonable Behavior” and dig the real thing. Play: 3, 6, 7, and 9
1) One minute of haunting voices saying strange things. Mellow keys meander around and dark brooding synths move in the background. 2) All the makings of a classic Garnier techno cut without a real foundation to hold it all together. Dark electronic melodies (along with a cello line) dance around as simple snare hits create a psychedelic downtempo vibe. 3) Strong dub vibe. Simple languid beat with echo-ed out hit from snare. Very nice minimal work on the keys gives the piece a very open/organic feel. 4) Spanish guitar noodeling over slow, deliberate piano chords. Mournful male and female voices howl in some exotic language. 5) Beatless ambient cut; harsh and cutting at times. Much of the second half sounds as though it were written on a midi-keyboard… 6) spoken word: Funky drum breaks and bass licks with a man telling a story about some kind of futuristic mass riot. The last few minutes pick up and become a bit jazzy. Interesting cut, though the message is somewhat obscure. 7) As the name suggests, a house track. A good one too, the dark dirty type you’d hear coming from a Danny Tenaglia or Deep Dish set. Bongos and synths with a distorted clip of a guy saying “I control the house”. 8) Pushed as the single of the album. Harsh distorted vox over electric guitar a heavy-metal drum beat. However, Laurent Garnier, fortunately for us, is not a heavy-metal artist, and the track is grating without giving much back. Seems someone has caught a case of the early-90’s Moby disease. 9) Little French kids playing with a dark trip-hopish beat. Dramatic strings are a backdrop for various electronic clicks and pops. 10) Dark outro. Cello, spooky distorted spoken word, electronic noise…
-Mike, i.e. The Professor