Not content with producing one remix album, the Hull production duo Fila Brazillia have made enough quality remixes to justify a sequel. Whereas the balenciaga men first included such illustrious names as Radiohead and The Orb, part two is a more underground selection of acts that have requested the Hull makeover.Fila Brazillia teams up with the ambient piano of Harold Budd and the New Wave art rock of Bill Nelson on the balenciaga arena THREE WHITE ROSES & A BUDD EP.
The opening track, "No Shade, No Shadow," has the drifting, sad quality that one would expect of Harold Budd, and as it loops over the length of the track, the other contributors overlay it with ominous electronics. "Adrift Amidst Les Odalisques" has a much dreamier feel to it, like sunlight dappling through leaves, and the Fila boys lay a gentle groove on top. Bill Nelson's guitar comes to the fore on "The Airless Time," like a howl of pain, with Budd's piano following beside. "Blue Locus," balenciaga mens trainers the final track, is almost a reflection of the opening track, but one that opens up into sparkles. Beguiling, and a fascination diversion for the Fila boys.
Considered a pre-cursor to the downbeat and trip hop movement, Fila Brazillia have explored the relationship between organic instrumentation and electronic sensibility throughout the 90's arriving logically at Jump Leads . As pioneers of a post-punk northern England musicality, their journey has been defined simply by their musical insight rather than genre specification. Dub rhythms, house beats, drum n' bass syncopation, ambient chords, and funk arrangements have all found their way into Fila's sound without falling into the clichéd territory of eclecticism'.
See, the thing is that Fila Brazillia remember that there have been many periods in history where pop music has managed to be both challenging and popular. It's their shared sense of hope, history and humour that inspired Fila to form their own twentythree label to release album seven in 1999, and has carried them through to the creation of Jump Leads, due out early in 2002.
Laid-back jazz-funk grooves straight balenciaga socks shoes out of the '70s are the foundation of the record, but hints of Stevie Wonder-esque soul, hip-hop, bossa nova, ambient, spacey techno, house, minimalist electro, big-beat and trip-hop all pop up here and there, as do touches of ethnic percussion, acoustic guitar, saxophone solos, new age-y synth flourishes, and the occasional odd vocal sample or sound effect. What really pushes Power Clown over the top, though, is that the group maintains their focus throughout, never meandering and changing things up often enough to keep the grooves from becoming repetitive. One
of the finest and most over-looked electronic-dance releases of 1998.