Quo Vadis, Bukem? Spätestens seit seinem gefeierten Doppel-Debüt
Journey Inwards ist bekannt, dass der noch amtierende britische
Drum-&-Bass-Meister der 90er seines angestammten Terrains müde
geworden ist. Bukem, der DJ Extraordinaire, Musiker und gütiger
Herrscher über ein regelrechtes Musik-Imperium, wendet den Blick zurück
nach vorn: Earth 4 ist formidabler Showcase für den neuen Stil aus
alten Elementen - von Deep House (!) über Acid Jazz und allerhand Funky
Stuff geht die Reise in ein groovendes Universum, das keine Grenzen
mehr kennt. Warme E-Pianos und fröhlich wummernde Basslines allerorten
und ein paar höchst erfreuliche Überraschungen enthält das Paket: Da
wäre neben den üblichen Verdächtigen Big Bud, Tayla und Artemis etwa
John Beltran, der sympathische Eigenbrötler aus Detroit, der zu Unrecht
immer in der zweiten Reihe stehen musste und nun bei Bukem gleich mit
zwei Tracks zwischen Latin und House zu verdienten Ehren kommt. Kurz
gesagt: Earth 4 ist eine überaus schöne Compilation, wenn die
Erwartungshaltung des Hörers stimmt. Also Good Bye D&B, hello
"Future Funk Jazz House". Oder so ähnlich.
Christian Arndt, Amazon.de
The fourth installment in LTJ Bukem's Earth series builds upon the
hybridized sound Bukem put forth on his solo debut, Journey Inwards.
Featuring selected tracks from his arsenal of labels (Good Looking,
Looking Good, Cookin', Nexus, and Blue Vinyl), Earth 4 moves toward a
deep house sound - cut with Latin influences, jazz, and rare grooves -
that Bukem and his affiliated artists have just begun to explore.
Artfully sequenced, with the slower, soul-influenced tracks at the
front and the uptempo numbers toward the back, Earth 4 builds like a
good club mix. Although the tracks come from a variety of artists,
Bukem's ear for sequencing is so precise that the compilation sounds
almost like a mix performed by a very smooth (and well-prepared) DJ.
For instance, Jon Beltran's "Aztec Girl," a gorgeous fusion track that
builds from an airy vocal atop an acoustic guitar to a raucous party
track filled with keys, hand percussion, and jazzy drums, segues so
perfectly into Makoto's "Extensions of Life," you'd swear they were one
track. The dubby, organic "Extensions" melts into the album's deepest
cut, Tayla's hypnotic "Timefields." But the best lies ahead. For
doubters who think house music is a repetitive 4/4 drum kick all night,
Jon Beltran's "Seven Miles High" and Artemis' "Astral Sunset" prove
what delicate, but powerful music can be built upon a repeating rhythm
foundation, which in many cases is - these days, at least - a
polyrhythmic mosaic of 4/4 beats, sixteenth notes, dotted eighths, and
traditional rhythms from Africa, Latin America, or Asia. These tracks
prove how archaic the concept of "house music" really is: Today's
uptempo dance music is a merging of international influences and
globe-crossing relationships. Lacarno's "Axis" is a prime example of
this; it is influenced by breakbeat culture as much as it is by the
legacy of jazz.
