T
o a novice listener attempting to break into the world of electronic
music, the sheer number of genres,
sub-genres, and micro-genres must seem overwhelming. At least,
I hope it's not only me. Although the history and progression of
musical styles is fascinating to trace, my personal collection
of electronica is small, and I've always been too lazy to make
the effort to delve deep into the specifics. While looking into
the background of House (which
seems to be Basement Jaxx 's official classification),
I've come across Acid House, British
House, Chicago, New York, Garage, Micro, Progressive ? and to make
total understanding even more confusing, the features that define
one category (geography, fusion with other styles) aren't necessarily
the same class of features that define another (the sound of the
Roland TB-303 bass-line generator).
I know that Basement Jaxx is considered a prime innovator in the
current house/dance scene, and listening to their third album, Kish
Kash , with my novice ears, I can definitely tell that this
is not your standard club music, the anonymous diva vocal remixes
of popular songs I often hear when my friends occasionally drag
me to a dance club. If nothing else, the vocal collaborations ( Me'Shell
NdegéOcello, Siouxsie Sioux )
indicate something special.
Reviewalude. [1] Experts consider Jesse
Saunders to have produced the first house record
(?on wax?) - either ?Fantasy? by Z Factor or
his own ?On and On,? depending on who you ask. Chicago, 1983.
Kish Kash starts out strong with the one-two punch of ?Good
Luck? and ?Right Here's the Spot.? Disco/Exploitation ?70s strings
open ?Good Luck?, which then proceeds into a melodic fuck-you-too
( Good luck, good luck / good luck in your new bed / enjoy
your nightmares honey / while you're resting your head ).
Complex bass lines support Me'Shell NdegéOcello while she
encourages you to move your body ( feel my effect ) in ?Right
Here's the Spot.? Two other highlights are the alternatively spelled
title track ?Cish Cash? featuring the incredible Siouxsie Sioux,
and the playful ?Hot ?N Cold,? which reminds me of this happy 80's
dance track that I can't quite remember the details of.
Other reviews have claimed that Kish Kash isn't quite
as heady or progressive as Jaxx's
first two albums ? I don't have
the expertise to comment on that,
but in between the album highlights are indications they might
be right. The middle-eastern tinges of ?Lucky Star? may have been
originated by trendsetters like Basement Jaxx, but now that I've
also heard middle-eastern tinged Mandy
Moore tracks, it could be time to innovate further. ?Tonight? returns
to the acoustic guitar foundation
of ?Rendez-Vu?, the first track
from their first album, Remedy . And the final (and longest)
track, ?Feels Like Home? doesn't make much of an impression of
any kind ? generic chill-out music to send all you clubbers back
out into the streets.
[1] If you're
familiar with the track listing of
the past three Basement Jaxx albums,
you'll get this cheap attempt at
a meta-reference. The rest of you,
never mind.
