> > Also while I'm at it - Mike Ladd - what's the score ?
hope people will forgive me posting my review from motion here. it's
at http://motion.state51.co.uk/reviews/543.html for those that want
to hear a couple of sound clips too.
Mike Ladd
Welcome to the Afterfuture
Ozone Music
Those in the vanguard of hip hop are looking further and wider for
inspiration, stepping outside of the conventions of rapping to draw
new lyrical flow from poetry and soul, drawing sounds from
increasingly interesting vernacular and avant-garde sources. And
nothing epitomises this better than this hand-grenade of a release,
lobbed into the mix by Mike Ladd, with the utterly serious intent of
pushing beat-driven, creative music forward. It's bloody great.
Though completely unique, it reminds me of last year's great Dälek,
Co Flow and Mos Def albums - the same intensity, similarly rich sound
palette, the same probing mind seeking out new forms to work with.
Lyrically, Ladd is phenomenal. His sharp ear enables him to cut his
rhymes directly into the grooves, shaping the sound as much as his
smart samples and loops, and he's not averse to drifting his complex
poetry across the beat (he featured on the "Eargasms" hip hop poetry
compilation, and though he has a different style, he's ploughing the
same articulate furrow as the awesome Saul Williams). The lyrics are
passionate, informed, well-turned, and hit home hard. There's a
seductive futurity about the content, which matches Ladd's sci-fi
soundscapes perfectly. Assisted by Bruce Grant (tape loops), Jeff
Cordero (guitar), Eric M.O. (bass), Charles Calello (keys), Fired
Ones (all cuts, except Co Flow's Mr. Len on "Bladerunners"), Ladd
himself is credited with pretty much everything else: various synths,
writing, programming, production etc. Company Flow collaborate on
"Bladerunners" - one of the angrier cuts on the album - a storm of
sexual politics, drawled basslines, and string samples cut adrift
from their moorings. Other standout moments include the irresistibly
funky keyboard riff and soulful singing on "The Animist", and the
breakbeat-driven whirlwind of polemic and electronic sparks of "Red
Eye To Jupiter (Starship Nigga)". Some tracks are completely
beautiful: "Airwave Hysteria's" Bollywood string samples; "Planet
10's" time-stretched vocals and ambient drift; and particularly the
final, stunning track "Feb.4 '99 (For All Those Killed By Cops)"
which indicates just how free-thinking and far-seeing Ladd is. It's
nothing short of early-70s Alice Coltrane in feel: gently throbbing,
droning, swirling strings; Indian flutes; and rolling drums emerge as
Ladd recites lovingly sketched reminisces before building slowly to a
thunderous crescendo and inspirationally fierce, almost preacher-like
delivery. Ladd states that he's "just trying to stretch the
parameters of Soul music ... trying to create a practical fusion -
trying to work in mixed media without making mixed mediocre. My
mission is to disappoint everyone who has preconceived notions of
what black people or music should be like, and that includes black
people as well." This has all the hallmarks of a classic, and I've no
doubt people will be digging Mike Ladd like mad.
hope this helps
cheers,
dan.
--
---+ dan hill [state51]
---+ new reviews on motion [23.3.2000]:
< the who | koji asano | position normal | sonovac | don byron | mike
ladd | koji asano | otomo yoshihide >
http://motion.state51.co.uk/ +---
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