Various
Northern Faction Volume 1
Balanced Records CD01
|
|
From Balanced, a new Canadian label, comes this showcase of what we can expect in the near future. A pack of unknown artists deliver the goodies in the form of eclectic laidback music.
Showing traces of hip-hop, future-jazz, electronica, dub, chill-out, funk, ... diversity is defintely high in influences, but nonetheless the compilation keeps up a constant flow throughout the tracks.
Names like Nasdweeb, Phoneme, dj Brace, RCola and Kasm probably don't ring any bells, so I thougth it was best to make a connection with somewhat wider known music and the first thing I can think of is Pork Records. The atmosphere and sound of most tracks is quite similar to that of Bullitnuts, Baby Mammoth or Akotcha from Brittain's cult downtempo label.
My personal highlights are:
- Duende6 :
"Yin Fei Yen" is a fresh take on nu-jazz.
- Sohcahtoa :
dreamy ambientesque breakbeats with no less than 6 appearances!
- Equanim :
"First Light" is in your face nu-millenium space-jazz!
- PeeDee :
his "Sunday Toil" track sounds like Autechre on the jazzy tip, exciting and highly original!
I must say this is a stunning debut, everyone at Balanced deserves my respect. It's a pleasure to discover such quality in music.
SayVegin
feb2002
|
