Kelly Rowland – Daylight
Gym Class Heroes’ Travis McCoy manages to break away from ‘Cupid’s Chokehold, in order’ to help out a new flame by undertaking the old style MC duties. Helping Rowland raise the profile of this soul/funk sliding into R N’ B territory, bragging about the sheer joy of the 24 hour party life. Her clear, hovering pitch reflects off McCoy’s friendly, but street wise hip-hop trip. ‘Daylight’ is fun-spirited and easy listening, but whether or not it steers far enough away from throwaway territory is something for the test of time to uncover.
By Dave Adair
Roni Size/Reprazent – New Forms2
The first foray into drum n bass for me was “New Forms.” The album release nearly ten years ago did so much to bring the genre into new light and into many new ears.
To mark this anniversary, Roni Size has returned to re-edit New Forms. He said this about the upcoming reissue: “The first generation of heads who were there with the rise of Reprazent & Roni Size will be able to reminisce over the last decade with the classics Brown Paper Bag, Share The Fall & Heroes. The generation of those who missed it will be able to appreciate the album with the new coat of armour I have added to the original tracks. I think fans of the original album always appreciated what we did with the technology of the day. This latest version shows what is possible now.” He made my point better than I would have.
As a big fan of the original record I love what Roni did with these new touches. It does give the hardcores some new stuff to pine over and the fresh coat of paint will help bring in the new kids into this world. The former top 20 single “Brown Paper Bag” still amazes as even today it sounds like it is miles ahead of its time. “Share The Fall” and “Heroes” still play out really well especially. There is something really special in “Share The Fall” the song just always takes me back to happier times and is just pure quality.
They did add four bonus tracks including single “Don’t Look Back.” The song does not fit in perfectly with the original songs but it does nothing to take away from the experiences. It is incredibly contemporary sounding. For the inquisitive type this is worth a look because you do get a lot of material here and there is enough new stuff to bring in the old fans. The young people out there who are looking to get into the dance/electronic/drumnbass stuff there really is no better place to start.
By John Siwicki
Daniel Lanois – Here Is, What Is
Daniel Lanois is a 56-year-old Canadian producer most famous for producing the work of such iconic artists as Bob Dylan, U2, Ron Sexsmith, Brian Eno, Peter Gabriel and Willie Nelson. He has also released his own albums semi-regularly since 1989 showcasing his abilities as a skilled singer-songwriter (this is his ninth, and doubles as the soundtrack to his documentary film of the same name about his work as a producer). What first struck me about this album was how minimalist the production sounds for such an accomplished professional.
Lanois seems keen to keep the songwriting simple, using weary and begrizzled Springsteen-esque vocals, backed by simple drumbeats and bass lines keeping the time for Lanois’s trademark pedal steel guitar textures (which he describes as his “little church in a suitcase”) and organ fills. Other tracks, such as ‘Blue Bus’ and ‘Love Child’, follow on from one another without much pause in between, and sound classically influenced and less structured in the rock/pop songwriting sense. Instead they comprise atmospheric slide guitar, and mellow piano scales and flourishes over some moody reverb. ‘Love Child’ eventually leads into some Tim or Jeff Buckley-esque falsetto and subtle choir-like harmonies, but these tracks’ overall “unplanned” feel is aptly introduced by a preceding spoken word sample entitled ‘Beauty’, which features Brian Eno explaining that:
“beautiful things grow out of shit. Because, nobody ever believes that. You know, everyone thinks that Beethoven had his string quartets completely in his head. They somehow appeared there and formed in his head and all he had to do was write them down and they would kind of be manifest to the world.
“But I think that what’s so interesting and what would really be a lesson that everybody should learn is that things come out of nothing. Things evolve out of nothing. You know, the tiniest seed in the right situation turns into the most beautiful forest.”
The sentiment is poignant and perhaps best describes Lanois’s artistic philosophy regarding “soaking up the moment” – doing whatever is in his creative means to allow these songs to live and breathe for themselves, without labouring their production to the point that it is detrimental to their power.
Elsewhere on the album, Lanois’s vocals get rougher and more Tom Waits-like, and lyrical snippets such as “gimmee shelter”, “this may be the last time, I don’t know”, and other minor Stones and Beatles references evoke the producer’s own lifelong love of rock ‘n roll. As the album progresses, Lanois also dabbles with Spanish guitar and increasingly, organ, but the LP remains a subtle affair from start to finish. Lanois isn’t a masterful singer-songwriter in a pop or even straightforward rock sense, but it is clear from his resume alone that producing is where his true calling lies. Still, the sonic textures and raw beauty on ‘Here Is What Is’ impress, seemingly without trying to, and Lanois shows off a natural gift to conjure musical magic from a rather limited array of components. This is a man whose input has been instrumental in the production of some of the most artistically accomplished albums ever made, and it shows.
By Ryan Daff
Lykke Li – I’m Good, I’m Gone
Lykke Li is a young singer from Sweden and has released her debut album earlier this year in her native country but it is finally getting a full release around the world. The record was produced by Bjorn of Peter, Bjorn and John. The lead single from that album is “I’m Good, I’m Gone.” The track first strikes up and I have no idea what I am in store for here. It could really go in a number of directions. A piano and a bass start up and it could really go anywhere and then the handclaps come in and I am already in love. Then the song builds into a great chorus of a little attack on her man “If you say I aim too high from down below, well say it now cause when I’m gone you’ll be calling, but I won’t be at the phone.” It is a fun and qurikly little song that has come out of nowhere to show us how a brilliant pop song can transcend that title.
By John Siwicki