We've heard a fair amount from Le Gooster since he COMMON
first surfaced on Shadow's excellent Five Star Like Water For
Galaxy collection several months ago.
His tracks on Chocolate
the two Five Star comps stood out like rays of
morning sun (with a melancholic edge, to be sure). Recent Reviews
from that prolific French underground (of which you -BILL FRISELL
may be tired of hearing), Le Gooster emerges like Ghost Town
an avenging angel to shred any assumptions you may
have about the homogeneity of that Parisian -DELTA 72
underground.
His debut record is as gloomy and 000
noir-ish as Portishead, with none of the commercial
tinge of newly-minted "crossover" artists such as -DEATH CAB FOR
Sneaker Pimps and Morcheeba.
Quite simply, this is CUTIE
an expression of what Manthia Diawara, in the We Have The Facts
Euro-African context, called "afro pessimism." "Mr. And We're Voting
Stevens" is a low-slung, dragging, hard breakbeat Yes
delight with none of the frivolous party spirit of
much of what still gets called "trip hop." The -LTJ BUKEM
rapper on "Real-izm" invokes Sun Ra and Mutabaruka, Journey Inwards
among others, to the accompaniment of wavering,
mirage-like raga sounds and a kick drum sounding -AIMEE MANN
like it was recorded through a mattress.
On tracks Bachelor No. 2
such as the spooky, slow-moving, sinister "La
Contagion Du Facisme," Le Gooster gets to the heart
of the dangerous, xenophobic rhetoric of far-right
French politician Jean-Marie Le Pen, who maintains
an uncomfortable level of popular support for his
plan to rid the country of immigrants.
The beat
here has a menacing edge, suggesting the violence
in the streets which might arise were Le Pen's
followers to act out their violent political
impulses.
Over 19 expertly-produced tracks, Le
Gooster establishes himself as a beatsmith
extraordinaire. Zig Zag Zen should establish him as
a leading figure in the exploding post hip-hop
movement.
Tim Haslett