JAY DENHAM: The Truth (Disko B)
Posted on Feb 27th 2008 10:31 pm
Filed in Albums | Tags: Disko B, Jay Denham
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JAY DENHAM
The Truth
DB143
Disko B 2008
09 Tracks. 52mins32 secs
For a man who has been involved in the Detroit techno scene since the movement’s infancy, Jay Denham has had to make do with far less of the limelight than some of the city’s more famous sonic elder statesman. While producers like Derrick May, Juan Atkins and Kevin Saunderson are now spoken of in hallowed, almost breathless tones, Denham’s music is probably better known among the furrow-browed aficionados of the scene than the casual music fan. Yet, in the years since he first appeared on Transmat, he has if nothing else been prolific – both as a DJ and, with numberless twelve inches to his name, as a producer.
But his techno sound, and in particular his latest release The Truth, pose a familiar question for listeners today: does the music of the Detroit scene continue to live and grow, or is it now just a series of mothballed museum pieces better left to historians of the 1980s? Listening to this record, it is hard to feel too optimistic, although Denham’s melodious and occasionally very engaging record is certainly not a failure. Tracks like Sweet Jesus offer warmth and charm, while The Long Way and Whispers are quiet, nuanced slices of ambience that show Denham’s subtler talents. But too often he allows things to fall flat, even where the ideas are initially engaging. Opener The Truth is a hyperactive slab of French disco that promises much but doesn’t really go anywhere. And the same is true of Come On, whose raunchy sense of ecstasy fades as the music fails to develop.
Denham is clearly capable of delivering the tunes, as these tracks show, but he too frequently allows the track to play out on autopilot while the opening refrain repeats itself into infinity. And whilst this method might work well in the confines of a DJ set, it again and again leaves the listener cold here. There is also too much dead wood on the album, with tracks like Electrostatic and Heaven Only Knows struggling to make it to lift-off during the six minutes they each play out for. And there is again the question of the sound of this record: it could easily have been written ten or fifteen years ago. And whilst it is in its way honourable to plough on with a musical style in isolation of passing trends, in listening to this record it is hard not to wonder what real relevance this music has to us any more.
2.5/5
Jay Denham (MySpace) | Disko B
Filed in Albums | Tags: Disko B, Jay Denham
Comments (1)
One Response to “JAY DENHAM: The Truth (Disko B)”
I think this review is awful. The album does not sound like something that would have been written 15 years ago, to me it sounds like something that will be written in 15 years!
It is not an album that immediately sets the pulse racing, as pretty soon one understands that this is not what one expected to hear. This is new shit! New shit takes time to grow, cause we gotta catch up.
A friend of mine asked me who it was the other day when the tunes were pumping, and I told them. They were shocked because of the difference in style between this and Jay’s previous output.
.
Heaven only Knows has a bass line to die for…can’t explain it too well without giving ideas which would be misleading, but played on a big sound system, something I intend to do when the opportunity comes up, would be out of this world, I am sure.
Sweet Jesus is a fantastic track. Starts off with such pace and energy, and the build up goes right through the tune, through the repitition, and comes out at the end. The keys sound a little like Cledus Snow’s Building Snowmen.
The Truth with Anthony Shakir, sounds like the future, no? Daft Punk/DJ Bone to give you an idea.
Come On, is I think my favourite track on the album. It’s just boss! Can’t you feel it? Swings and sexy, repititive, and so melodic. Brilliant. So much going on in this tune, but all tight. It’s like a wall of sex.
The Long Way is very mellow, and reminds me a bit of Future Sound of London’s stuff. More technological sounding, more metal.
Germs is a tune one of my mates really likes. It’s also quite mellow, but has alot of pace, alot of energy.
The World is a Ghetto, uses the Portishead/Tricky sample all screwed up like, (Wanna be a woman, blah blah) Very daring. Great vocals over the top.
Electro Static…what it says on the box. Excellent tune. Really. Good melody, great rhythm.
And that’s it for the 12″ version.
In summary, an excellent album, forward thinking, a radical departure from the Jay we know and love, something complety different, I think. The cluby tunes in here will be being played at a club near you sometime in the future, when the future catches up with Jay, AGAIN!
In regards to the comments made by the reviewer, …
But his techno sound, and in particular his latest release The Truth, pose a familiar question for listeners today: does the music of the Detroit scene continue to live and grow, or is it now just a series of mothballed museum pieces better left to historians of the 1980s?
Does it live and grow!
We only just getting started, darling! (Can I get an Amen!)
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