Slap Upside the Head

From Streetsy



MOUTHFUL
Themselves
The No Music. 2002
[Download It] [Buy It]

GET MODAL
El-P and the Blue Series Continuum
High Water 2004
[Download It] [Buy It]

ADVENTURE
Le Peuple de l'Herbe
Cube 2005
[Download It]



Still having a hard time comprehending what's happening down on the Gulf. Can't really put my thoughts into words on the matter, my own ineptitude sometimes is too great, so I will respectfully move along.

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Jel was a good pick the other day. I don't say this just to champion the ear of my FMGT co-conspirator, but because it's just what I was looking for on my Tuesday. Needless to say, I'm taking the liberty of taking another step in this direction. After the tips from K.O., our first pick today is the highly-touted Themselves. Jel + Doseone = Heaven. It's that simple. This is off their 2nd full-length together, and it combines their skills to the highest point: the stuttering flow of Doseone set above Jel's mesmerizing samples and drum machine abuse.

Say no more.

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El-P finally got his crack at the Blue Series in 2002, an unrelenting collection of jazz and hip-hop, but really everywhere in-between. The Blue Series is an amalgam of the Blue Series Continuum, a loose conglomerate of progressive jazzsters, and they pair up with various DJs. So far, El-P, DJ Spooky and the Anticon Pop Collective have all had a crack, and while any other opinions of this album are concerned, I feel it's the best of them so far. This album seems to be pretty divisive: some find it dirge-like and insipid, others tear-jerking and profound. I'm not sure if I would go that extreme, but it definitely takes the two genres in a different direction. Here, El-P allows the musicians to do what they do best, adding his own sonic textures to the finished compositions. It's remixing, but more immediate, more organic. While El-P's stamp does not entirely reign over the album at large, and despite a couple of weak tracks that unfortunately sit next to one another, the majority of it makes intriguing and powerful listening.

'Get Modal' takes the best of two worlds: the band hits their highest point musically, playing with aggression and flair. It is spoiled slightly by an annoying sample from El-P in parts, but it still pulses and rolls with intensity and verve.

The band: Daniel Carter (reeds), Roy Carter (trumpet), Steve Swell (trombone), Matthew Shipp (piano), William Parker (bass), Guillermo E. Brown (drums), and of course, the indomitable El-P himself.

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Le Peuple de l'Herbe have been operating in their native France for some time. Comprised of DJ Pee, DJ Stani, Psychostick on drums and Zeng on trumpet (those crazy Frenchmen and their names), their style is saturated with everything Europe and the World has to offer. Jungle, hip-hop, ragga, house, funk, dub, drum n' bass -- there's nothing the quartet can't do.

They're good fun -- having won several awards in France for their late-night live act antics (check out their debut album Triple Zero), they're all-in-all a good time. I wouldn't mind getting a chance to sample the live act, and while their music itself isn't that incendiary or ground-breaking, they put their passions and their souls into the music, and it shows.

This track is just a fun representation of their abilities. It reminds me in a way of some of BRA (Bentley Rhythm Ace), Daft Punk and some older Fatboy Slim stuff -- kooky samples, a playful sound -- and it's not a bad way to close out Thursday.


More tomorrow, work deadlines permitting.