Although acid was always part of Luke Vibert’s
musical make-up, and had infiltrated almost all his
records in one way or another, it was not given a proper
platform until YosepH
a couple of years ago. Yet, Vibert had already managed
to place a series of limited edition four-track twelve-inches
filled up with his unmistakable blend of acid on Mike
Paradinas’s Planet Mu, starting with the 95-99
EP released in 2000, then with Homewerk two
years later and Lover’s Acid only a few
weeks ago. Collected on this album, these twelve tracks
give a second chance to investigate Vibert’s acid
in detail.
If Vibert remained slightly in the background of his
friends Richard D. James,
Tom Jenkinson
and Mike Paradinas for
the best part of the nineties, his impact on the electronic
movement is far from minimal. Processing influences
ranging from hip-hop to ragga and disco to acid house
via dancehall and jungle and scattering them over his
various projects, from Wagon Christ and Plug to his
collaboration with BJ Cole and the more recent Kerrier
District, Vibert has quietly opened a considerable amount
of doors and uncovered new territories that he often
happily left for others to explore. The success of YosepH
placed him duly back amongst his peers and gave his
work the exposure it deserves.
Very much like on YosepH,
the tracks collected on Lover’s Acid
range from classic acid (the utterly excellent Homewerk,
Come On Chaos and Analord - the latter
went on to give AFX’s
latest series of releases its name), to more subtle
and, at times, laidback settings (Gwithian’s
lounge vibe refers to some of the more laidback Wagon
Christ environments), creating an interestingly contrasted
sonic journey. Vibert’s clear refusal to simply
regurgitate formulaic dance music, developing instead
his own take on the genre as demonstrated on YosepH,
is tempered with an ostensibly more reverent approach
here. The shadow of luminaries such as DJ Pierre/Phuture,
808 State or Baby
Ford can at times be felt quite substantially, but
this deflects in no way the impact of Vibert’s
tracks and actually places them into context.
Recorded over a period of almost ten years, these twelve
tracks sound surprisingly consistent and contribute
to give Lover’s Acid a true album feel.
Yet, collected together and placed in a totally different
running order to the original EPs, these tracks reveal
in a much more flagrant way the vast musical range explored
by Vibert throughout this project.
Lover’s Acid shouldn’t be seen
as a simple companion to YosepH.
If the two records are linked, they denote a totally
different approach to the genre, with Lover’s
Acid being resolutely more dance floor orientated
and offering more classic acid touches than its predecessor.
4.4/5 |
