GAUDI

Bass, Sweat and Tears (Interchill) 2004
Chill out vibes for fans of Afro-Celtic fusion type stuff, a sort of ACS in dub. This is the man’s 5 th solo album, inspired by native cultures from around the world it takes the listener on a journey from Burkina Faso in Africa to Iran, Pakistan and Northern India, from Papua New Guinea and the Amazon rain forest to Italy and Spain. This is something a little bit different from ANYTHING we have heard before, tribal vibes perfect for the beach or the chill out tent. We cannot recommend it highly enough.

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Black Cherry (Mute) 2003
Laid back ‘70s moog electro pop dragged into the 21 st century and given a digital make over. Exactly the sort of thing we here at Iguana should not like, which makes it rather odd that we fecking LOVE this album. It is like Tubeway Army, Marc Bolan, Lieutenant Pigeon, Suicide and Kraftwerk all chucked into a blender in the kitchen of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop to make a fruit smoothie and topped off with lush a hint of The Cocteau Twins. This sounds like it should be a bit of a mess, but it works a dream. It is a far cry form today’s usual electro fayre, but then perhaps that is why it sounds so fresh. This makes about as much sense as the thought of Dr Who ever being cool again! Dim the lights whack the volume up and float away. (since writing this review another album, ‘Supernature’ has appeared, hit the charts and gone platinum. It is again good, but not as good as this!)

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Soundboy Rock (Sony) 2007.
After releasing four masterpiece slices of intelligent dub funk without putting a foot wrong, it was probably inevitable that sooner or later they would take their eye off the ball, and they have. This fifth album is a massive anti climax for us and a major disappointment. After several listens we have failed to find anything of interest on this album, it is sadly uninspiring and unimaginative and once this review is finished it will go on the shelf and probably only be touched when we go for the other albums, which will remain favourites here at Iguana HQ for many years to come. Having said that though this album, the debut for Sony records, is undoubtedly the most chart friendly (commercial) to date and will undoubtedly sell by the bucket load. If Fatboy Slim can recover from the disaster that was “Halfway Between the Gutter and the Stars” then hopefully the Armada can recover from this, in the mean time, Plump DJs.. step up from the bench lads, the premiership is yours for the taking.

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