Electronic magnetism
New crowd-pleasing sounds from drum and bass acts MC Tali and The Upbeats.
Having surprised many by publishing her first novel earlier this year about a talking house, MC Tali is back doing what she does best – making electronic music. But as befits someone whose restless variety means she’s been touring New Zealand over winter with Julia Deans and Reb Fountain, and who will next month host a sweaty warehouse drum and bass party in London featuring the legendary LTJ Bukem, she’s made sure her latest outing is highly diverse.
Her husky, sultry vocals provide a constant grounding for the album, but what makes it a stand-out is her skill in gathering a wealth of global production and vocal talent. On the outstanding Indigo Drive, it’s the UK duo The Vanguard Project who push Tali’s vocals to a tumbling, seamless flow and a joyous chorus, while elsewhere she hands the mic over to up-and-coming Kiwis RosaDub, Blake, and Ed Waaka (on the lovely Falling Leaves), Berlin-based Aussie Georgie Fisher, or such Brits as DRS and Degs.
All those voices also mean tracks such as the rolling, atmospheric Language (courtesy of Poland’s Satl) and the unsettlingly sweet Bone (from Kiwi duo Truth) break up the flow of relentless beats and give the overall album a more experimental feel.
Certainly, there are tracks here for the 3am clubland scene, but Love & Migration’s overall feeling of beauty and diversity means there are also bright, festival tracks and plenty to soundtrack a night in.
Fellow Kiwi drum and bass artists
The Upbeats may have also gone globetrotting in search of inspiration for their latest outing No Sleep ’Til Japan and Iceland – but what the Wellington duo have come back with is a far cry from Tali.
Darker, grittier, altogether more menacing, this is nevertheless sophisticated electronic punk at its fastest – and boldly symphonic in its more spacious moments (notably in the two tracks when they work with Japanese dubstep artist Takeaki Maruyama, aka Goth-Trad).
Although far from being mainstream artists, and with wildly different approaches to drum and bass, both MC Tali and The Upbeats are capable of selling out New Zealand and European tours, and are at the top of their games in showing the breadth and ability of the Kiwi electronic music scene.
LOVE & MIGRATION, MC Tali (Fokuz Recordings) NO SLEEP ’TIL JAPAN AND ICELAND, The Upbeats (ParEx)