[Sidebar] The Worcester Phoenix
May 12 - 19, 2000

[Music Reviews]

| reviews & features | clubs by night | bands in town | club directory |
| rock/pop | jazz | country | karaoke | pop concerts | classical concerts | hot links |


*** 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
[Music Footer]

| home page | what's new | search | about the phoenix | feedback |
Copyright © 2000 The Phoenix Media/Communications Group. All rights reserved.