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 ABACUS aka A:XUS soundtrack for life Guidance CD & LP
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Abacus has always been 'not-your-average' deep house producer. Apart from great groove-stuff (like the classic 'R for Revolution'), he has released rather peculiar tracks that mix electro-beats, deep-house grooves and a chilly atmosphere, like 'A Place in Time' (appeared on the FreeZone 2 compilation) or 'My Planet Rocks' (on Hi-Fidelity House Vol. 1). His debut album -sounds silly if you know that he has been around for several years now- reflects this duality. Chicago groovers like 'You make me feel like (peace & love & happines)' and 'Callin' U', together with sour-tasting pure emotions on 'synchronicity' and 'pluto'. To proove he is still with the game, 'oceans between us' throws in drum'n bass ryhtms. On the vocal side, Naomi N'Sembi has more than enough possibilities to make us want to eat three litres of chocolate ice cream upon hearing her voice ('Baghdad Cafe', 'near or far', 'Nice to see you again'). And the cross-over stuff doesn't end there. 'Soundtrack for life' is downbeat, stuffed with samples. 'Lazy, Hazy, Crazy Days' and 'Taxi Blues' give us more of the same dope shit. Like it. All in all, Abacus has gone way passed the club classics that are mentioned on the little promo label on the cd box. If this is your soundtrack for life, guess your life isn't boring for sure. Oh yeah, Abacus even added a piece of poetry for the leeflet to add a super-serious artistic touch : 'each thing I do I rush through so I can do something else in such a way that the days pass a blend of stock car racing in the never ending building of a gothic cathedral through the windows of my speeding car I see all that love falling away books I've read jokes I've told landscapes I've visited...' ("cemetery nights", Stephen Dobyns) If you're thinking what I'm thinking, you'll agree that he should stick to making music... outspan march00 |