Bill Laswell & Sacred System: Book of Exit, Dub Chamber 4
Bill Laswell Sacred System - Book of Exit (Dub Chamber 4)
ROIR/Axiom Records 2002
Personnel:
Bill Laswell - bass, guitar, keys, production, arrangements
Ejigayehu "Gigi" Shibabaw - vocals
Karsh Kale - drums, tabla
Aiyb Dieng - percussion
Robert Musso - engineering & programming
This is the fourth and most percolating release in Bill Laswell's Dub Chamber series, and the most vibrant and eclectic (which is saying something considering it's Laswell). This one is far closer to his cross-pollinating concepts in Material. Whereas this has the same nirvana-sized portions of Jamaican dub bubbling over everything in a thick stew of bass and reverb, it has some sharp spice added with the more varied percussion and the transcendant vocals of Gigi Shibabaw, but the overall vibe of the album is very, very subdued. This is mellow, grooving stuff. Not smooth jazz junk, not new age crystal in the navel gazing boredom (yes, I rebuke thee, listeners of Mannheim Steamroller and Andreas Vollenweider). This is the kind of music that just works as a natural auditory muscle relaxant.
Transitions here are fluid and roll from laidback and cozy to vast and open grooves. Gigi even tries her hand at some English vocals (she hails from Ethiopia, and until now, only sang in Amharic) and does a rather impressive job with them, on the closer, Jerusalem. Otherwise, she does what she excels at - an excellent vocal style that knows when to anchor itself down to keep from overpowering the song, and wailing with sandstorm fury when it is called for. She definately has one of the most powerful new voices in modern music, and seems perfectly capable of wrapping itself around other idioms (her approach here inflects some funk and Asian sub-continental flavor not apparent in her solo material that preceded this release*)
Laswell is one of the most tasteful bassists out there, with a clear appreciation for the less is more approach. No pointless noodling here, just pulsing low-end, holding things down for an ocean swell of lush ambient keyboards and layers of percussion. Kale's drumming keeps things moving along and his rapport with Laswell is quite obvious. Dieng is almost always brought into sessions like these, because of the sheer range of precussive instruments he can play, and in this case he does seem to use a lot of colors to fill out the sound, but never be disruptive.
Laswell' s production quality is usually impeccable, and this is no exception. Clean but not syrupy slick, this album sounds warm and full. Fully worth investigating.
* Possibly due to her involvement in Tabla Beat Science (also featuring Karsh Kale), another Laswell project focusing on mixing electronica/turntablism and tradiational Indian insrtumentation with his dub bass prophecies and whatever else could be thrown in with the sink. She guested on their debut and the following tour, after which this album was recorded.
You will like this if you like:
Material - Hallucination Engine
Sly & Robbie (with Howie B) - Drum & Bass Strip to the Bone
Peter Gabriel - Passion
LTJ Bukem - any of the Ingredients releases
Sweetback - Sweetback
ROIR/Axiom Records 2002
Personnel:
Bill Laswell - bass, guitar, keys, production, arrangements
Ejigayehu "Gigi" Shibabaw - vocals
Karsh Kale - drums, tabla
Aiyb Dieng - percussion
Robert Musso - engineering & programming
This is the fourth and most percolating release in Bill Laswell's Dub Chamber series, and the most vibrant and eclectic (which is saying something considering it's Laswell). This one is far closer to his cross-pollinating concepts in Material. Whereas this has the same nirvana-sized portions of Jamaican dub bubbling over everything in a thick stew of bass and reverb, it has some sharp spice added with the more varied percussion and the transcendant vocals of Gigi Shibabaw, but the overall vibe of the album is very, very subdued. This is mellow, grooving stuff. Not smooth jazz junk, not new age crystal in the navel gazing boredom (yes, I rebuke thee, listeners of Mannheim Steamroller and Andreas Vollenweider). This is the kind of music that just works as a natural auditory muscle relaxant.
Transitions here are fluid and roll from laidback and cozy to vast and open grooves. Gigi even tries her hand at some English vocals (she hails from Ethiopia, and until now, only sang in Amharic) and does a rather impressive job with them, on the closer, Jerusalem. Otherwise, she does what she excels at - an excellent vocal style that knows when to anchor itself down to keep from overpowering the song, and wailing with sandstorm fury when it is called for. She definately has one of the most powerful new voices in modern music, and seems perfectly capable of wrapping itself around other idioms (her approach here inflects some funk and Asian sub-continental flavor not apparent in her solo material that preceded this release*)
Laswell is one of the most tasteful bassists out there, with a clear appreciation for the less is more approach. No pointless noodling here, just pulsing low-end, holding things down for an ocean swell of lush ambient keyboards and layers of percussion. Kale's drumming keeps things moving along and his rapport with Laswell is quite obvious. Dieng is almost always brought into sessions like these, because of the sheer range of precussive instruments he can play, and in this case he does seem to use a lot of colors to fill out the sound, but never be disruptive.
Laswell' s production quality is usually impeccable, and this is no exception. Clean but not syrupy slick, this album sounds warm and full. Fully worth investigating.
* Possibly due to her involvement in Tabla Beat Science (also featuring Karsh Kale), another Laswell project focusing on mixing electronica/turntablism and tradiational Indian insrtumentation with his dub bass prophecies and whatever else could be thrown in with the sink. She guested on their debut and the following tour, after which this album was recorded.
You will like this if you like:
Material - Hallucination Engine
Sly & Robbie (with Howie B) - Drum & Bass Strip to the Bone
Peter Gabriel - Passion
LTJ Bukem - any of the Ingredients releases
Sweetback - Sweetback
posted by theloniusfunk at 2:40 AM
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