UP, BUSTLE AND OUT & RICHARD EGUES – Master Sessions 2

Description

Be aware, in same cases pictures display here isn’t the same as the actually product. May be is a promo.

The fine people at Ninja Tune would like you to believe that Up, Bustle and Out’s Master Sessions Vol. 2 is a landmark collaboration, ignoring cultural boundaries to bring together two divergent musical styles to create something new. They’d like you to believe it, and frankly, I wish I could. Here’s how “Clandestine” Ein and Rupert Mould ( aka Up, Bustle and Out ) create their music. First, they sculpt beats and soundscapes out of old vinyl, then they wrangle up musicians and ask them to play over what they’ve created. Finally, they paste everything together, adding reverb and effects, shifting pitches, and employing other such newfangled nonsense where needed. For the two-part Master Sessions series, the duo has traveled to Cuba in search of sounds and musicians. They’ve even brought Portishead bassist Jim Barr along for the ride, though they spend most of this album working with master flautist, longtime bandleader and Buena Vista Social Club guy Richard Egües ( and his orchestra ). It’s an interesting idea, certainly, and the divergent nature of the project’s participants has resulted in some interesting parallels. The results are presented not as a collection of Up, Bustle and Out songs, but instead as a sort of audio documentary of the project. The disc itself is something of a mixed bag, its tracks ranging from dub to downtempo trip-hop to traditional Cuban jazz to beat-driven hip-hop instrumentals.