Re: PUTS / Ladd

From: Jason Mariyappan (jason.mariyappan@ic.ac.uk)
Date: Tue Mar 28 2000 - 11:55:16 MET DST

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    Thanks Dan & Brock on that info - any of you checked out Common's new LP ?
    If so give me the rundown !

    Had the pleasure of seeing Ronny Jordan last night - If you get the chance
    I seriously recommend - Must of been one of the smoothest jazz gigs I been
    to, made you want to fill up that brandy glass, light up a big cuba (or
    whatever), and get an allover body rub from that gal with talented
    hands................Mmmm
    Shame I was workin behind the bar !

    Easy
    Jay

    At 17:57 24/03/00 +0000, dan hill wrote:
    >> > 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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