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Faithless - Live
by DanTanner
What an act ? What performances ? What a euphoric feeling of togetherness that eminates from this live performance . Maxi Jazz - lead vocalist with Manchester dance collective Faithless - gives off the most energy that any live performer could ever give off to the crowds . I have seen them 3 or 4 times now including ... gigs at V-festivals and an amazing Outrospective date at The Manchester Evening News Arena .
People of all ages come to see them - young and old . But there is one objective to the Faithless live experience , you gotta move ! Everybody moves , everybody dances and everybody listens . Lessons and Messages poor from every orifice of a Faithless tune , they can chill you out , or psyche you up , calm you down , or mash your head up . What a band , what a rush , what an experience , get yourself along to their next gig and have some Faith in Faithless .
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Herbaliser in general
by Sugar Matty O
THE HERBALISER – ‘Something Wicked This Way Comes’ – Ninja Tune 2002 The Herbaliser have become something of a cherished institution in their native land, evolving as one of the best examples of how to manipulate hip hop into a instrument-emphasising delight. There’s no doubt that their sound has ... ripened since debuting with the genre-exploring Remedies seemingly aeons ago, pasting acid jazz inventions with rap breaks and drowsy trip hop tendencies. Followed by the feelgood gimmickry of Blow Your Headphones, the emcee-responsive Very Mercenary and the picture-completing live session of the Herbaliser Band, Something Wicked This Way Comes is the London crew in their prime.
While the jokes of days gone by remain, the japery is only slight given the undivided attention and concentration the many-manned team commands in making hip hop a conventionally experimental joy. Conventionally experimental, in that while the sound being pushed continues exploring its own capabilities, its intentions aren’t to alienate through being too outlandish. Packed with orchestral scores that would find comfort on the silver screen with a swagger so cool and laid-back, it’s almost a crime-busting lothario that everyone respects in CD form. Naturally The Herbaliser haven’t entirely lost their sense of humour and the ridiculous adlibs and film dialogue snatches continue to attempt putting a smile back on the face of all the frowners and growlers. They are certainly serious about what they do, but with it comes a mischievous smirk that you can’t help but laugh along with.
Making use of the profiting UK scene has Jake and Ollie pitching three home picks against two State-side counterparts. The transatlantic crossover has Dilated Peoples’ Iriscience laying down his usual concise clutter-free knowledge on Verbal Anime, without ever really overtaxing himself over a nursery-primed, sprightly, hopping woodwind cho
p-up that’s half a DP signature tune, half Herbaliser freeform sense of kookiness. MF Doom is accommodated for on the urgent orchestral build-ups of It Ain’t Nuttin’, the former KMD front-man sounding comfortable in front of a tight big band fastening using a cut-up of The Pharcyde as its chorus and a typically crate-dug dialogue sample to restate a quickly made point.
For the home side, Blade belts out at lightning pace, Time 2 Build racing along at a demanding rate using a 70’s ideal of sleek. With its breaks, brass pinpoints and piano tinkling you’d imagine this would translate superbly both on stage or against a chase scene from any goodies-v-baddies flick. Wildflower gets a reggae/desert ranch-edged march to compliment her tough, finely uncultured delivery as Good Gone Girl Bad explains how a Herbaliser concoction, again complete with nameless film clip introducing the UK rookie, can distinguish between ‘a good girl/you’re a bad boy/I’m the real thing/you’re a decoy.’ Phi Life Cipher drop some heavy duty battling over a ethereal lounger packing a shadowy, distrustful vibe as Distinguished Jamaican English slides its way excellently undercover with the verbal shadiness to match. ‘I’m keeping it raw/just like a person ordering a blue steak/and I’ve done told you before/that I’m more intense than a toothache’ keeps it battle-ready while allowing that second nature-humour to creep in momentarily.
The Turnaround, appropriately, swaps the tough talk for an electric guitar-centred jam that far removed from hip hop as its known, demonstrates the awesome live possibilities once the whole crew are intent on just getting on down. Unsung Song follows suit in relying on sassy saxophones and heartfelt violins to wind proceedings down a notch that’s nothing short of three minutes of time-to-think glory swiped straight out of a musical where the down-on-his-luck ce
ntral character pours his heart out to the audience while swigging copiously from the oversized brandy bottle. The Hard Stuff – god only knows where they found the anti-drug public service announcement to kick things off – is pure, albeit brief, Herbaliser, chunkier drums and a simple woodwind section piping up sorrowfully coming on sort of like a stoned version of the theme to Prisoner. For sheer hair-bristling energy, check Battle of Bongo Hill - aside from having a title any Herbaliser cut demands, the clash of Kelis’ (), tropical bongo playing and swinging 60’s London will be far too funky for those uninformed of the shape-shifting still being practised to perfection.
The ambiguity within the title of The Herbaliser’s latest opus precisely explains the devastating force behind this collection of avant garde break-works – it’s wicked as in devilish, fiendish even, and wicked as in just ace. Something Wicked is pretty much a culmination of their previous works painstakingly pieced together before the right amount of straight-up and sophisticated can be balanced. Ultimately, their best album yet, something in itself bearing in mind Very Mercenary remains a fine LP and the plaudits The Herbaliser Band received for its in-the-flesh instrumental sessions, it’s the sort of work that continues to dodge definite labelling through ambition and forethought. Marvellous post-modernist music that aims to keep everyone happy through its wide range of influences and something even the most downhearted will raise a smile to…
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Plump DJ's in general
by call_me_jim
Plump DJ’s, fat breakbeats, dirty bass and a side order of fries please. Better make it two! These boys by the name of Andy Gardner and Lee Rous have created a pretty major disturbance on the breakbeat scene. This could be just their gravity well but who am I to cast doubt on their substantial frames. The fat lads appear to be ... named after a rather minority interest ‘gentleman’s magazine’ by the cheeky name of ‘Plumpers’! They work from the label ‘Finger Lickin’ where they reside with cheeky scamps ‘Inda bush’ and the unfortunately crappy ‘Dreadzone’.
The plumps first album, ‘A plump night out’ is one funky piece of groovy monkey magic! The greasy beats make you want to shimmy just enough for that late night lounging on the sofa post-party leg jiggle. Not to say this is any way chilled music; it just gives you the urge to, as it were, get down, no matter when you listen to it. The word I am looking for is possibly funky, or maybe phunky?
Top tracks include ‘Electric Disco’ and ‘Scram’ but these are just a slice of the, proverbial, pie. Why limit yourself to just a small portion when you can eat the whole lot!
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