*** DJ Cam
THE FRENCH CONNECTION
(Shadow)
Although the
hands-in-the-air and four-on-the-floor grooves of French house have been
popular mix-CD material for the past few years, The French Collection
highlights beats that are more of the pass-the-blunt and ass-on-the-couch
variety. Mixed by Parisian b-boy DJ Cam, The French Connection works
best as a nicely packaged transatlantic promotion tool for the Paris-based
Artefact, since the entire track selection comes from that label's vaults. And
though DJ Cam gets top billing for executing some well-placed scratches and
tasteful blends, it's the source material that supplies all the character here.
None of the artists is a known quantity on these shores (Mr. Quark, Zend
Avesta, and Shinju Gumi, anyone?), but Artefact has a sonic stamp that is
immediately recognizable. Mixing viscous trip-hop beats and gritty rap samples
with unabashedly romantic instrumental flourishes, the Artefact productions
have a decidedly European flair. Like DJ Premier on Percocet, the slinky
vibraphones, plush synthesizer padding, and breathy saxophones smooth out the
rugged drum loops into a dreamy and breathy beatscape, straddling the line
between a constant head nod and an REM-inducing nodout.
-- Michael Endelman
|