SourceLab 3(Source/Caroline CAR 6640)
While
French acts such as Daft Punk and Dimitri From Paris prepare
to assault mainstream dancefloors across North America, back home in Paris
the experimentation continues. Mixing full-on House and Hip-Hop beats, Cocktail
Lounge ambiance and the Junglisms of their British neighbors, the French
are also fond of bringing their Left Bank jazz legacy into the mix. Somehow
it all makes sense. Sourcelab
3 is the latest transmission from the heart of the French
underground. Mixing and scratching its way through 23 tracks of gloriously
non-conformist jazz'n'house-hop, this double CD collection features Sourcelab
regulars such as DJ Cam, Extra Lucid and Le Tone as
well as some fabulous collaborations such as the tongue-in-cheek pairing
of Air
with moog-meister Jean-Jacques Perrey. The
Source crowd are self-confessed free spirits, bedroom alchemists who, over
the course of three albums, have earned the reputation as France's answer
to seminal dance labels Mo'Wax and Metalheadz. I
guess we could throw in expressions like au courant and savoir-faire,
all of which sounds great, but in the end it's better to just light up a
Gauloise, put your hand on your heart and simply say "I Love Sourcelab
3". Fantom "Faithfull"
This mysterious combo from the Parisian house club scene puts all of the current ingredients into its sound blender and primes this bomb which has already exploded in England and the United States.
Hi-Way "Nite Fly"
DJ Gilb-R has got together with Lexi (X-Pensive) to hoe a row or two in search of drum and bass happiness.
Tele Pop Musik "Sonic 75"
Pop groups (in this case the bass player from Autour de Lucie, and the guitarists from the Bel Air Project and the band Planete Zen) treat themselves to a sampler, and their love of melody interferes with the structures of the cu-base.
Aleph "Symphony of Sickness"
Aleph The Invincible (alias Arnaud Rebotini) tinkers with abstraction and polishes up his rhythmics. Hypnotic in his use of sampler loops and violent in his foot-tapping beat.
Chateau Flight "Mondorama"
DJ Gilb-R and I:Cube, both songsters of elegant versatility, get together for a track that is both kitsch and far out.
Extra Lucid "Antisocial"
The calm strength of Jerome Mestra (mentor of the Artefact label) takes over as his eclectic compositions just keep on coming. The essence of peace of this new track follows on skilfully from the serenity of SourceLab2's "Combat Rock".
I:Cube "Power Sandwich"
The latest prodigy of the "French scene" in full bloom, from the most interesting of the neophyte French labels: DJ Gilb-R's Versatile.
Low Tone Priority "What About Your Love?"
Erik Rug, king of the European dance floors, remains strangely unknown in his own country. For years, however, he has had the talent to carry on the tradition of a well-decked-out house production.
Les Petroleuses "Mais Ou Est Genevieve?"
Marc Collin, regular composer for the Rosebud label (Ollano, Doriand), has written the credits for a film which doesn't exist. All of his influences are to be found in this sombre track produced in sixties’ style.
DJ Cam "Inflammable B. Boy"
The man who makes machines cry can also make them jump: the proof is this infra-bass hip-hop. One way of looking at French savoir-faire.
Scratch-Pet-Land "Post-It"
Remember this name: Scratch-Pet-Land, alias Tetrapak and Crol, from the Kingdom of Belgium. These two minimalist originals extol the virtues of electro fiddling and the immediate fooling around with limitless experimental sounds. As proof, they have just produced and filmed an incredible "live at Carpet-Land".
Disc Two
Le Tone "Jean-Jacques Et Les Dauphins"
Jean-Jacques Perrey is a friend to children and to Le Tone, who can sample
him with that much more leeway since he has his universal blessing. After
having detonated SourceLab2 with "Bomb de Bretagne", the Bordeaux concept
man is working on an off-the-wall instrumental and an orgy of weird scratch
hip-hop.
Mozesli "Sunshine"
Mozesli consists of Marlon, ex-funky drummer from the Sinclair system
and DJ Shalom, regular scratchman of Olympic Gramophone's jazz-rock experiments.
This is a synthetic recycling of the soul music which rocked them to sleep
when they were young.
Maisons Laffitte "Lapheetphunkateerz"
Arnaud - Yvelines - Rebotini gets together with his old POF pal Pierre
Galli for a fresh house outing which goes against the grain of their usual
inspirations.
Influx "Doctor F"
Progressive rock? Hybrid drum 'n' bass? The music of DJ Nem and Olivier
de Medeiros is huge and bewitching. A fearsome UFO from the constellation
jungle.
Magic Malik "Obsession"
This man does not use a sampler, records live and has nothing to do with
the "new French scene". But he plays the flute like no-one else, and has
made a name for himself with all of the Parisian funk tribes through his
countless concerts, and with Radio Nova listeners with his incredible
improvisations on the jungle sets of the illustrious DJ Gilb-R.
Grand-Popo Football Club "Salami Man"
Ariel Wizman is trying his hand at musical production. Don't expect a
techno track from him or a disco-house cover of a Gibson Brothers hit.
A sample of the electronic games he has worked on with his friend Nicolas
Errera is enough to open the doors of his playful extravagances.
ODC "La Methode Rose"
ODC is none other than pseudo house by Olivier Daric-Castor, from the
POF label, who usually prefers to dish out his techno high jinx with a
faith which demands respect. Technical.
Bel Air Project "Magik"
Alex Attias and his sampler-twin Sebastien Kohler remain children of soul,
as shown by this walk through the deepest darkest jungle across the ups
and downs of their native Switzerland.
Black Strobe "Paris Acid City"
The omnipresent Arnaud Rebotini gets together with the most accomplished
of our Parisian trainspotters, Ivan Smagghe. Their old-school and second-degree
production has one eye firmly fixed on intelligent dance floors.
DJ Gregory "No Pain Without Your Love"
The temple guardian of French house, the perfect purist, awash with depth
and finesse. DJ Gregory confirms his place as a major figure in this scene.
Taka Djahma "ABCD Mental"
Taka Aki, a Japanese 18-year-old, and his father Djahma, both live in
Paris. Their first joint production has been released here, much inspired
by the Detroit techno they admire so much.
Jean-Jacques Perrey/Air "Cosmic Bird"
The unlikely encounter between: Jean-Jacques Perrey, 68, former synthesizer
salesman turned pope of the Moog and composer for Walt Disney, known all
around the world (except in his own country) and now coming of age with
the British re-release of his mythical "E.V.A.", many times sampled by
Gangstarr & House Of Pain. Air, alias Nicolas Godin and Jean-Benoit Dunckel,
the two most gifted French producers/musicians of this generation, highly
in demand across the Channel, plucked for the occasion from the recording
of their much-awaited first album. Result: a musical farce, somewhere
between Popcorn and Kraftwerk.
