published: 30 /
1 /
2004
Label:
Ronda
Format: CD
Engaging experimental side project of Melmac's Luc Reverter, which finds him taking the snatched sound effects and hazy electronica from his regular band, and merging them with rap and hip-hop samples
Review
Since first forming in 1998, Parisian duo Melmac have blended snatched sound samples and collages of industrial noise with echoing guitars and droning synthesizers to create a surreal, offbeat vision of the world.
Melmac consists of two brothers, Luc and Nicolas Reverter. They have released four EPs and mini-albums together, and last year released their first full-length album, 'Les Secours Arrivent et Prennent Le Relais', on their own label, Ronda. The Reverter brothers are also using Ronda as an outlet for their own solo projects. Nicolas' project, Anaconde, has found him experimenting with just a voice and a delay, and it released a self-titled EP at the beginning of last year, shortly after Ronda was first established. As Ronda's first release of 2004, the Reverters have now released the eponymous debut album of Luc's project, Lucky R.
Many of the same trademarks that embody Melmac's work are reprised on 'Lucky R'. Clanking factory noises ; ticking metronomes ; snippets of dialogue pinched from French films and news programmes, and intense slabs of hazy electronica and reverberating guitars are mingled together in haunting, compelling style.
While some tracks such as 'Coco Dance' and 'Euphorie du Jeune Age' simply come across as being Melmac under another banner, others, while maintaining similar elements, find Luc treading new territory, and toying with rap. On 'Exppe' a hip hop MC's sample "I want to get out and do my thing" is looped over and over, while on 'Gappo' the equally familiar cliche "Make a motherfuckin' raucous" is given the same treatment. Both taken in this context become obsessive mantra-like prayers. 'Wuira' meanwhile turns this concept the other way round, and throws a warbling Islamic-style chant up against hip-hop beats and further cloudy electronica.
At one level 'Lucky R' channels a previously undiscovered link between hip hop and electronica. At another it takes the mundane and the hackneyed, and converts them into something more spiritual. While remaining close to the spirit of Melmac, it is, in their temporary absence, a refreshing and enticing alternative.
Track Listing:-
1
Un Lion Ne Meurt Pas
2
Exppe
3
Maloya
4
Track 4
5
Wuira
6
Coco Dance
7
Wuira (Seb.R Remix)
8
Track 8
9
Tnghr
10
Otto Dub
11
Gabbo
12
Euphoroie De Jeune Age
13
Track 13
14
Gabbo_Bysug[r]Cang(Da Sug[r]mx::Prience)