Cadenza: Cat. # CADCD05
Released October 2009

Track List:
1. Los Niños De Fuera (8:48)
2. Celestial featuring Liberty by Karen Ann (12:31)
3. Sun, Day And Night featuring Martina Topley-Bird (7:09)
4. Conspirer (6:59)
5. Hang For Bruno (9:01)
6. Fran Left Home (5:20)
7. Africa Sweat featuring Ali Boulo Santo (8:48)
8. Pierre For Anni (1:22)
9. Metodisma (10:51)
10. Oenologue (8:40)



IN BRIEF: ‘Minimal world beat’? Er…

Of the members that comprise clubland’s latest mega-DJ - the three-headed minimal-techno monster known as Luciardo Villalawtin - Lucien Nicolet seems to have sustained his career mostly on DJing reputation these last few years -despite lacking either the prolific musical output of Villalobos or the endless marketing stunts of Hawtin, he remains high in the consciousness of folks who fell sway to that scene’s great hype machine. Still, fans have been restless for a proper long-player from Luciano, with a string of collaborative singles and DJ tools having done little to ease the demand for a follow-up to his five year old Blind Behavior. Thus, as his fame continues to grow, so has anticipation.

This fact apparently hasn’t gone unnoticed by Luciano’s own PR team. Once word dropped that the Swiss-Chilean man was going to release a new album, they went into overdrive. The press release that preceded Tribute To The Sun was filled with the kind of overwrought hyperbolic praise typically associated with the likes of mega-trance DJs rather than techno jocks, which really just reaffirms the notion that ‘minimal’ has been the new ‘prog’ for a while now. Having phrases like “[The album] draws upon Luciano's extensive experience as a mover of bodies and a reader of the crowd's mind” and “this is the fullest portrait yet of Luciano as not just an artist but a human being” is enough to sound off your Pretentious Artist Alarm, while the incredibly gaudy cover art had even the most faithful of fans questioning where Mr. Nicolet was going with this. Still, perhaps it was all just an unfortunate example of over-enthusiasm on PR’s part. While the fanboy hype - of which such press seems to be shooting at - for Luciano has grown almost unbearable during his superstar rise, surely the man himself has kept a level head through all the headlining DJ tours. After all, it’s the music that’s coming from the speakers that counts, and the man’s track record in offering groovy ethnic-tinged minimal house, though somewhat spotty lately, has been solid enough throughout most of his career.

Unfortunately, right from the first few seconds of Los Niños De Fuera, no doubts are eased. The track opens with one of the most hideous vocal samples I’ve ever heard. Is it the clashing of flat, mismatched keys? Was it fed through an Anti-Tune program? Who the fuck knows but it’s awful, and you’re going to be hearing it through the entirety of the track’s near nine-minute length. And this is a bloody shame because Luciano does manage to do something quite catchy at the same time, bringing in a tribal chant overtop and adding a simple, infectious rhythm that’s nearly impossible to resist. At periods you even forget there’s an atrocious noise wailing in the background. You get the sense Mr. Nicolet was so confident in his abilities as a musician that he decided to intentionally make a tune that you will be simultaneously enthralled and repulsed by. It doesn’t work. A horrible sound is a horrible sound, and unless you’re purposefully making noise like Man Machine Music, no amount of sweet groove is going to change that. This is not genius music-making; it’s pretentious aspiration.

The opener’s problems are two-fold. Not only is it ruined by the backing vocal, it also doesn’t go anywhere, simply looping along as the bassline throws in little improvisational bobbles throughout. The weaker cuts on Tribute To The Sun all suffer from this directionless loop-noodling. Sun, Day, And Night rambles on with filtered percs and noisy crashes, giving Martina Topley-Bird’s vocal contribution little point. Conspirer fares better, its tranquil tones at least making for a pleasing little filler of a track; however, Fran Left Home is a total waste of time, style-biting about 16-bars of an old Vector Lovers track and looping it for a pointless five minutes -why would you ever put a DJ tool like this on a CD album?

Unsurprisingly then, the few tracks that do sound good are the ones that actually go somewhere. After some atmospheric jazz doodling, Celestial brings in an extended sample of Karen Ann’s Liberty, mostly featuring the backing choir vocals and melodies as Luciano improvises some groovy drum-work. It’s quite a lovely affair, easily letting your mind drift away as the music plays, though it must be said much of the solid music ideas in Celestial come from Ms. Ann’s original. Elsewhere, Hang For Bruno and Africa Sweat are solid numbers that continuously build in rhythmic and melodic energy -still, that these are probably the best cuts on here shouldn’t come as a surprise considering Luciano has some talented musicians working with him in this case.

Yet, what we’re hearing on this album thus far isn’t terribly innovative or fresh. Frankly, the only folks that are going to be serendipitously impressed by Tribute To The Sun are those that have never bothered to wander over to the World Music section of their major-chain record store. Six Degrees Records alone has been churning out ‘world beat’ for over a decade, to say nothing of all the mid-90s ethnic samplers, and all Luciano’s done to spice up the sound is added some groovy minimal loop beats to it.

Confounding the whole enterprise are the final two tracks, a pair of bog standard deep, k-hole techno cuts that are all ominous atmosphere and sinister tones. Actually, Oenologue is a decent, if typical, example of the sound, but Luciano totally wrecks Metodisma’s mood with a few scream samples that are hilariously corny. Seriously, just make one of the cheesiest screams of pain you can possibly muster, and it’s probably similar to what comes out in Metodisma. How these relate to the rest of the album, however, is anyone’s guess (mine: they were intended for a separate single, and got tagged on here when Luciano realized he was short on running time), as they’re of totally opposite tone to the rather upbeat and pleasant nature of the album. Like, how can something so dark be a tribute to the sun?

To completely write this album off would be silly, as Luciano’s a strong enough producer to warrant a brief listen to any of these cuts -even Fran Left Home is interesting for at least a minute (doesn’t matter which minute since they’re all the same). Unfortunately, the lack of focus and inclusion of awful ideas also shows signs of a musician having an overconfidence of his abilities in the studio, convinced that his muse can do no wrong. Perhaps his fanboys will think so, but in the end we simply have a slightly above-average world beat record. Pick this up if the name Loop Guru draws a blank.

ACE TRACKS:
Hang For Bruno
Africa Sweat


Written by Sykonee for TranceCritic.com. May not be reproduced or republished without the consent of TranceCritic.com. © All rights reserved.

Title: Luciano - Tribute To The Sun
Category: Album
Sub Category: World Beat
Reviewer: Sykonee
Related Link: Luciardo MySpace
Added: December 23rd 2009
Viewed: 413 Times
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