It’s almost
impossible to get a handle on the complex multiplicity of Dance Music these
days. Indeed, any attempt to construct a
family tree of extant beat-based genres would actually result in more of a
thicket of tangled branches and suckering offshoots. British producers always had the knack for
finding interesting hybrids and mutations in standard forms with the potential
to become global phenomena and, in the 21st Century; such healthy disregard for
genre orthodoxy feels like by far the most creative way forward.
One of the most
obvious demonstrations of this has occurred in recent years as Dubstep splintered
into multiple, interesting new directions at the hands of a number of forward
thinking luminaries, including Kode 9, Burial, Shackleton and indeed, Zomby. They
all prove the futility of pigeonholing styles and that, whilst acknowledging
the strands within it, we should think of rhythmic electronic music far more
holistically.
Whilst the pseudonymous
Zomby lacks the heart-rending melancholy of Burial, or the sheer abstraction
and conceptual ambition of Sam Shackleton, he has proved himself skillful at
deconstructing numerous pre-existing ‘traditions’ of dance music and reassembling
them into something identifiably his own.
Although sometimes cast as an anarchistic wind-up merchant, 2011’s ‘Dedication’ album revealed him to be
capable of both sophistication and emotional depth, despite its gunshot samples
and sketchbook tendencies. The titles of
these albums suggest he is emotionally invested in his music far more than he
is merely showing off. ‘With Love’ certainly continues the trend
but, this time, in the form of an extensive double set comprising two distinct
halves. In that respect, it emulates
Shackleton’s most recent album [1.] and, it must be said, gives it more than a
run for its money.
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| Z For Zomby |
The first half of
‘With Love’ is where Zomby
demonstrates his magpie tendencies most overtly. Indeed, the shiny, faceted mask, behind which
he often hides, seems a most appropriate accoutrement. Having commenced proceedings in relatively
familiar dark, Dubsteppy style, he opens himself up to a much wider range of
influences and signifiers. ‘If I Will’ combines glockenspiel tones
with a chopped and diced vocal sample retaining a definite skip in its step and
more than a hint of Flying Lotus’ aesthetic.
‘Isis’, relies on a strict
metronomic structure to create a tension with romantic, piano figures not
unlike those that wander pensively through so many old Massive Attack songs. ‘It’s
Time’ looks straight back to old school Rave with potty-mouthed exhortations
to lose it and air of euphoric psychosis.
Zomby’s love of that era is well known and air horn sounds
punctuate many tracks on ‘With Love’,
often at unexpected junctures.
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| Reflecting The Many Facets Of Contemporary Dance Music |
And so it goes
on, through Hip Hop and Techno inflected tracks, and the welcome return of
busy, time-bending Drum & Bass rhythms in ‘Overdose’ and ‘777’. ‘Rendezvous’ and ‘All The Things You Do’ emulate Burial’s pitch-shifted vocal sound
but within a slightly more percussive framework, whilst elsewhere, sampled
references to lost sound systems are married to more contemporary, ticking
rhythm patterns. The splendid ‘Vi-Xi’ comes across like a Jamaican MC competing
against a distant Hardcore rave.
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| Smokin' |
The lazy, clichéd
reference for this kind of music is usually of a sojourn through dark city
streets replete with shadowy atmospheres and lurking danger. It’s not a wholly inappropriate simile for ‘With Love’ but nowhere near the full
story. In fact, I prefer to see the
first section more like a journey through a mental music collection or stored
sound-related memories, real or imagined.
It’s significant that both Zomby and Burial wax nostalgic over a bygone
Rave Age neither could really have experienced first hand, and that clearly, the
aesthetics of recreational sound can be loaded with long-term, emotional
resonance.
The short track
lengths, abruptly cut endings and overt versioning of a single idea, (often
programmed in succeeding tracks) are familiar Zomby trademarks and still very
much in evidence here. He makes no real
attempt to hide either his short attention span or experimental, scattergun method. Initially, this made me regard his musical
statements as somewhat impromptu but I’ve come to appreciate the honesty over
his modus operandi and willingness to allow individual tracks to stand as ideas
or sketches rather than building a polished, homogenous edifice.
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| In The Hood |
Despite that, the
album’s second half does work more like a unified suite. If the suggestion of alienated urban
foreboding is again a tempting reference, I still feel it’s only one possible
interpretation. There is a general
solemnity throughout these tracks, with slow paced Trap beats and profound bass
dominating. The sense of Zomby exploring
variations on the same theme also adds to their overall sense of unity. Nonetheless, repeat listens reveal a wider
sound palette and more varied degrees of illumination than is initially
apparent.
Opener, ‘Black Rose’ is built around shimmering
gamelan chimes and next to no percussion.
It is far more darkly romantic than it is threatening or bleak. ‘Glass
Ocean’ is allowed to shuffle a little and pitches its melodic elements to prioritise
wistfulness over anything darker. In ‘I Saw A Golden Light’, illumination
really becomes a major component and, despite portentous bass, its identity derives
from a repeating cycle of single piano notes counterpointed against droplets of
melodic synth. The impression is of a city viewed through a curtain of illuminated raindrops.
This equation of
points of sound with points of light characterizes much of the remaining
album. ‘Quickening’ achieves it with soft metallic chimes whilst ‘Reflection In Black Glass’ dispenses
with a beat and allows pointillist notes to play across surfaces of washed
synth just as its title suggests. ‘Sunshine In November’, (the clues
really are in many of these titles), uses piano and cascades of electronic
notes in a beautiful, beatless sketch, evoking the heartening effect of winter
sunlight. If the album’s title track
closes everything out in a sombre, downbeat fashion, it does so only after
numerous moments of uplift and considerable beauty.
Ultimately, I
think Zomby has assembled the various components of ‘With Love’, into something rather monumental and loaded with
emotional reverberations. Certainly, as
a fifty-something with dodgy legs, I’m always appreciative of how he and many
of his compatriots seek to shape programmed rhythms into a rewarding listening
as well as purely physical experience. Organised
in two strikingly different ways, ‘With
Love’ acknowledges the alienation of modern urban life but demonstrates how
it can also be circumvented via the various tropes of electronic Dance Music. Whether this is best achieved through fondly
remembered dance floor communion; via an aesthetic appreciation of the play of
light on the city’s fabric; (or even by shared experience with a romantic
partner), is for the listener to decide.
[1.]: Shackleton, ‘Music For The Quiet Hour / The Drawbar Organ EPs’, Woe To The Septic Heart, 2013.
Also Listening To:
The Jimi Hendrix Experience, 'Electric Ladyland'.
Leo Kottke, 'Leo Kottke'
Portishead, '3'
Portishead, 'Glastonbury 2013', (BBC Broadcast, 28 June 2013)
Mount Kimbe, 'Cold Spring Fault Less Youth'
Pantha Du Prince, 'XI Versions Of Black Noise'
Blind Faith, 'Blind Faith'
The Fall, 'The Infotainment Scan'
