the heliocentrics - out there
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