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Kinetic
AH
Remember when grunge overdosed, shot itself in the head, turned into Collective Soul, and the world was looking for new musical salvation? And some bright young executive made up the word "electronica" and his girlfriend heard somebody at a club going on about "trip-hop" and "drum and bass" and within months the Chemical Brothers were on magazine covers? And remember when MTV took the bait and tried to convince us that pasty English guys behind banks of machinery would be the next rock stars? And U2 and Madonna and Cher put out albums that were "inspired by club culture"? That was funny.
Actually, we're still in the midst of an electronic revolution, but we have learned a few things about the shelf life of some the records produced by those anemic club kids and programmers-cum-musicians. While the genre (and countless sub-genres) has generated some truly great albums - Portishead's Dummy, DJ Shadow's Entroducing, Tricky's Maxinquaye come to mind - most acts' stylish records are considered passé as quickly as they update their logos. And then Volkswagen mines the carnage and the cycle is repeated. LTJ Bukem (Danny Williamson), a British DJ and producer, seems to be destined for inclusion among the few who can actually excavate lasting music out of such a bloodless style. Over the last few years, Bukem has released the Logical Progression and Earth DJ compilations, which have hinted at his potential. But, with his official debut Journey Inwards, Bukem has avoided most of the pitfalls that plague his knob-twisting peers.
For one, there are no pesky games of "spot-the-sample." There are no novelty songs in which a lame song is made "cool" by ironic manipulation. In fact, the only sample credited is from an old David Ruffin song in the form of some horn blasts. Also, the term "Big Beat," the frat rock of DJ music, cannot be applied to Journey Inwards. Bukem takes the sophisticated and snaky rhythms of drum and bass and expands them to fill a lush Phil Specter-like universe. It's a heady mix that skirts the jarhead 120 bpm hollowness of most club hits. In "Our World," these beats turn themselves inside out and challenge the listener to follow. On other tracks, the mood is unhurried and decidedly jazzy in character. The whole exhausted scheme of build-ups and drop-offs is happily resisted.
Even better, there is a genuine soulfulness to Bukem's sound. Fat, warm synthesizers, xylophones, wah-wah guitar, electric piano, horns, and live drum kits give the record an organic Stevie Wonder feeling in songs like "Rhodes to Freedom" and the "Sunrain." Bukem seems to understand the concept of building a song. At no point on Journey Inwards does a sound bite of a voice or an irritating sound effect constitute the hook of a song. And although there are no traditional verse/chorus delineations, Bukem moves from part to part with a genuine unhurried musicality. And best of all, Noel Gallagher does not make an appearance.