Fans of Luke Vibert have been spoilt of late. In just
under a year, the man has introduced two new projects
and released six twelve inch and three new albums. It
all kicked off last July with the publication on Rephlex
of a series of five drum’n’bass twelve inch
EPs under the name Amen Andrews, following on the footsteps
of his Plug project of the mid-nineties. Then came his
first album for Warp, YosepH,
published under his own name, on which he collected
for the first time a series of acid tracks recorded
over the years. Vibert’s first album for Rephlex
since his seminal 1994 collaboration with Jeremy Simmonds
on Weirs was released earlier this year. Kerrier
District, a project named after an area of
his native Cornwall, saw Vibert venturing into disco
territories while remaining close to the acid touches
of Yoseph.
Back in the early nineties, Vibert was commissioned
an ambient record by his then label, Rising Hell. Having
virtually no idea of what ambient was, he set out to
produce Phat-Lab Nightmares, recorded in just
a few days and released to critical acclaim in 1994.
The album instantly placed Luke Vibert on the map, alongside
the likes of Richard
D James or Mike Paradinas.
Yet, this album had very little to do with his conception
of music, and its follow-up, Throbbing Pouch,
released a year later, was offering a more accurate
overview of what would become Vibert’s trademark
sound over the years as he flirted with jazzy ambiences,
sleazy easy listening and hip-hop beat structures. Following
a highly successful drum’n’bass outing as
Plug, and his first album released under his name, Vibert
returned to Wagon Christ in 1998 with the imaginative
Tally-Ho, and again in 2001 with Musipal.
These two albums took the sound of Throbbing Pouch
to new heights as Luke was becoming more confident with
his music.
Three years on from Musipal,
Vibert revives his original Wagon Christ alias once
again and releases his second album for Ninja Tune.
Originally due out a year ago but postponed due to the
release of Yoseph,
this fifth Wagon Christ album has as much in common
with both YosepH
and Kerrier District
as with the last Wagon Christ releases. Working on similar
grounds as Vibert’s last two albums, the aptly
titled Sorry I Make You Lush offers a funked-up
version of its squeaky-clean predecessors, as if Vibert
had spent the last few years studying particular sonic
structures and observing them from three different angles.
In true Wagon Christ style, Vibert collects here an
outrageously eclectic array of samples and ambiences,
yet, the hip-hop influences noted on Tally-Ho
and Musipal
have been largely replaced with funky rhythmic themes,
giving it a much more immediate feel. As chaotic a record
as the man has got us used to, Sorry I Make You
Lush progresses hastily from one track to the next,
hanging erratic vocal inputs, including recordings of
his kids, all the way through to give the listener a
false sense of comfort while he piles up sounds, beats
and grooves into effervescent little vignettes. Revisiting
the cheesy atmospheres of his delectable Nuggets
collections, Vibert offers everything from cool grooves
(I’m Singing, Kwikwidetrax,
Shadows) to torrid ambiences (Saddic Gladdic,
Quadra Y Discos, Sci-Fi Staircase,
Nighty Night), effortlessly flirting with the
listener, teasing the ear with well-structured pieces.
Representing the less serious side of Yoseph
or Kerrier District,
Sorry I Make You Lush is perhaps Vibert’s
most playful record to date. Not as accomplished as
Big Soup and not as unpredictable as Tally-Ho,
this album is nevertheless by far his most accessible
output yet, and could well bring him a handful of new
fans in the process.
4.4/5 |
