Black Affair - Pleasure Pressure Point
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26 Black Affair, Pleasure, Pressure, Point (V2) 4 starsGiven his starring role in outré folk-hop troupe the Beta Band, nothing that Steve Mason does should ever prove surprising. Even by the defunct group's outlandish standards, though, Mason's latest solo guise is endearingly odd. Who else, after all, would dream of welding Tubeway Army to lubricious RB and house and pull it off? Paul Mardles27 Anne-Sophie Mutter, Bach: Violin Concertos, Gubaidulina: In Tempus Praesens' (Deutsche Grammophon)5 starsAnne-Sophie Mutter was a violin wunderkind soloing with the Berlin Philharmonic at the age of 13. Somehow she didn't burn out like many other former child stars, but has continued to develop, playing full-toned, expressive violin - a throwback to the great violinists of the 20th century such as David Oistrakh (search for him on YouTube).As well as performing the great classic violin concertos, shes had some of the greatest modern composers queuing up to write for her, including Lutoslawski and Dutilleux. Mutter says, though, that her greatest experience with a modern score is this concerto that premiered last year and which on this disc is linked with a couple of Bach's most sublime concertos. With the London Symphony Orchestra on top form under the baton of the ubiquitous maestro Valery Gergiev, Mutters deft phrasing, clarity of line and lightness of touch re-imagine the Bach in a miraculously fresh manner. Like the Bach, the Gubaidulina piece combines mathematical playfulness with intense spiritual yearning.Mutter has been described as a 'gritty mystic' and the music is challenging and fascinating in its combination of strange timbres, slithering strings, and fierce brass. At one point, roaring orchestral thuds all but mug the violin, which somehow emerges unscathed, a damaged hero in some epic battle.Among the smoke and Russian gloom, the piece is in the end life-affirming, even optimistic. PC28 Blue Bokes 3, Stubble (Fledg'ling)3 starsThree old pals - Ian Anderson (otherwise the editor of the excellent fRoots magazine), Lu Edmonds and Ben Mandelson - pack their sandwiches to go roaming across the folk and blues landscape. A highly entertaining journey it proves, too, as they reinterpret classics such as A Fool Such As I and In the Pines, together with originals by the versatile Mr Anderson. Caspar Llewellyn Smith29 The Cool Kids, The Bake Sale (C.A.K.E/XL) 4 starsWhile it's debatable whether the Cool Kids alone can restore hip hop to its former glories, there's no doubt that the Chicago-based duo (Chuck English and Mikey Rocks) are a breath of fresh air. This 10-track set, marketed as an EP, should not only serve as a taster for their debut album proper, but unite the backpack bloggers and bling-happy bump'n'grinders alike. Jim Butler30 Mathias Eick, The Door (ECM)4 starsIt's rare to hear instrumental music that is almost poetic in its construction. Trumpeter Mathias Eick has a sound that gently beckons and, like softly spoken conversation, you instinctively lean forward to catch every gesture. One you'll listen to on repeat to fathom its subtle meanings. Stuart Nicholson31 Various, Beyond the Horizon (Sound of the World)4 starsEach year Charlie Gillett broadcaster, author and regular contributor to OMM (read him rave about a new record from out of Africa elsewhere in this issue) dips through his record box and pulls together a compilation of the freshest sounds from around the world. Some names might be familiar already: Toumani Diabate, Manu Chao, even Dengue Fever (who featured in OMM's global special last month). But with 34 artists from 28 countries, theres sure to be something new to excite you: Kobo Town, for me, or Jorge Drexler. As ever, this is an invaluable one-stop shop. CLS32 U2, Boy; October; War (Universal) 3 starsHere are the 2's first three albums, remastered and re-released with an extra disc of b-sides, live tracks and rarities, plus liner notes from OMM's own Paul Morley. The band have given their blessing to the releases (The Edge oversaw the remastering), which is slightly odd because, more than anything, on relistening they illustrate how remarkably ordinary U2 were when they first started out. LB33 Hanggai, Introducing Hanggai (World Music Network)3 starsIt's not often that you can hail a band with the cry: Straight out of Ulan Bator! And alas, it wouldn't be fair to do so in this instance either, because Hanggai hail in part from the Chinese province of Inner Mongolia and came together in Beijing. But never mind: this music sounds agreeably of the grasslands and features songs about horses. CLS34 David Bowie, Live Santa Monica 72 (EMI)4 starsI asked for lobster tail, and they brought me palm tree, a piece of palm tree, says this Ziggy figure at the end of Andy Warhol. Ah well, at least this neatly repackaged artefact feels like a proper bootleg. The protagonist wasnt quite yet the star hed become in the UK. Hence the need for him to produce the whooshing sounds on Space Oddity himself. The Spiders, meanwhile, are on scintillating form. CLS35 Various Artists, Well Hung (Finders Keepers ) 4 starsBrave enough to face the possibility that the former Eastern Bloc nations Eurovision dominance might be based on musical superiority rather than political chicanery? This riotous set of Funk-Rock Eruptions From Beneath Communist Hungary pulls back the Iron Curtain to reveal a psychedelic freakout in full swing. ,br>Ben Thompson36 Various Artists, Give Me Love (Honest Jons) 4 starsAntique Iraqi 78s are go. The second Honest Jons trawl through EMIs international archive unearths at least one major discovery. It would be overstating the case to say that Khedayer Bin Kessab could have Ornette Coleman for breakfast, but its hard not to be bowled over by the clear free-jazz undertow in the work of this amazing Twenties zourna-player. BT37 Various Artists, LA PALOMA Vol VI (Indigo)3 starsThis CD continues¤...
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