INTONARUMORI

I respect Material's will to push the boundaries - I'll even go as far as to say that I applaud it. After all, it was this never ending search for something different - something unique and sticker-free that lead them to release an album like Hallucination Engine that blurred the lines between IDM, jazz and ethnic music. The question then arises: can you take such a thing too far?

Short answer: NO. There is no such thing as taking music too far, if there's proper reasoning for doing so. Just like the movies, music needs a 'storyline' or something that starts from an inner idea - an emotional thing that can't be locked up inside a measly human vessel. It wants out! Out there among the rest of us walking flesh monsters............ I will say this though, certain individuals - musicians from the progressive lands that seek to explore everything and beyond - tend to be quite successful in trying out new things and then relegating this their new found inspiration as something personal and organic - like it was just a matter of time before they approached these fresh musical pastures.

Material are many things. Starting out as a fusion act, with loose ties to the art rock world, this musical baby instigated by bass master Bill Laswell, has infused post-punk, funk, downtempo chill out lounge fusion, electronica, pop, soul, no wave, dance, free improvisation into its sound and now with the most recent Intonarumori: Experimental hip hop...

So in keeping with what I was saying earlier: Is this credible? Does it feel like something organic - something just waiting to happen inside the ever expanding world of Material? Not really actually. I can't fault the music here, because like everything I've tried out by them previous to this album, the different styles and textures of the band flow together and outside of themselves effortlessly and elegantly like a musical dolphin. They are so in tune with each other that they'd be able to churn out a black metal album successfully for all I know. On here though, I think the partnership with all these rappers quickly turns mechanical and foreseeable - not that that is a bad thing in itself, but I have just come to expect so much more from this act. The gangsta rap takes up all of the musical space here, and you immediately feel as if you know which way the wind blows - what lies next around the corner.

I should point out, that I've been a fan of hip hop ever since the late 90s - and furthermore a big fan of one of these rappers on display here. Wu-Tang affiliate Killah Priest, and while his performance just may be the best out of the lot, there is really not much inspiration behind. By 1999 hip hop had already done this. The merging of fusion and electronica creating a dreamy and at times juxtaposing musical backdraft to the lyrical samurais slicing their way through the speakers. Here we meet artists from the world of hip hop such as Rammellzee, Kool Keith, Kut Masta Kurt, Extrakd, Eddie Def, Flavor Flav, Juggaknots feat. Breeze & Queen Heroine, phonosycographDISK, Lori Carson, Bernie Worrell, Nature Boy Jim Kelly, Scotty Hard, Elwood and Ted Parsons, Ahlill the Transcending Soldier, Alicia Blue, The Ghetto Prophets, DXT and Jerome "Bigfoot" Brailey. And even if these guys mean nothing to you(well maybe some of you know Flavor Flav from his reality stint), I just wanted to show how many different names agreed to be a part of this venture.

It still falls flat on its face. The music stays in the back - and none of these lyrical artists burn, burn, burn like most of my favourite hip hop artists. I need fire and brimstone filling up the airwaves, and this is certainly not the place.

All I'll say is that if you want some experimental hip hop with connotations to our side of the pond, then I strongly suggest picking up Faust's collaboration with Dalek instead of this. 2 stars for the music though...