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Sufi
Lovers And Trippers
Just as there is a perfect time of the day and the year for particular kinds
of music, so there is a perfect place, or at least, the right room of the
house.Ê You might play Massive Attack in the conservatory, Stereolab in the
library, or Autechre in the kitchen.Ê And Sufi?Ê You'd find them billowing out
of the main bedroom, and it would ideally be 3 a.m. on a sultry August night,
with the sheets thrown back.Ê Incorporating elements of both the mainstream
and dub soundscaping - 'Cool As Moons' is sugar-coated dream po
complete with
floating trumpet, whilst 'Someday' invents several new shades of percussive
sound - this album could as easily be a success in both arenas as neither.
The follow-up to 1995's Life Rising deserves to be heard rather than
overlooked.Ê The drifting haze of beats carry you along in their languorous
trail until the straight-ahead numbers kick in and you can't help joining in
with the airy vocals.Ê Comparisons with other male producer, female singer
set-ups are unhelpful.Ê Beneath it all can be heard Rudy's earlier work in AR
Kane, and Maggy's voice recalls the lightness of touch of the Young Marble
Giants more than the despairing ache of Portishead.Ê Though Rudy's
instrumental perambulations are anything but minimalist; 'Ca Va Ce Soir', for
example, has been worked over and layered until it operates both as a song and
a dense, rhythmic soundtrack.Ê Maggy comes into her own on 'Assassin', where,
from whispered beginnings, she launches her voice beyond its usual limits.
Best of all is 'Dressing For Bed', a reworking of the single 'Lying In Bed',
Rudy dirtying things up some more with distorted vocals and A.R. Kane guitar.
A copy of Lovers And Trippers? - Every bedroom should have one. |