There’s a lotta club music out there capable of summoning images of greasy-tan women and broheims doin’ rails in the bathroom or folks in shiny shirts grinding on the dancefloor. However we arrived at a point in the music’s history when that’s pretty much the norm is regrettable. But UK producer Nightmares on Wax has nothing to do with that–and in fact, has cultivated a recorded legacy that’s so far removed from those stereotypes, it’s difficult to understand how a lesser strain of the genre exists. Beginning in a time when DJ culture was coming into its own in England allowed for NoW to draw from a blinding kaleidoscope of source material, including soul, Jamaican styles and, of course, now-classic D.A.I.S.Y. Age hip-hop. Since releasing his first disc in 1991 and the pair of quintessential albums following that (“Smokers Delight” and “Carboot Soul”), he’s swung focus from genre to genre, synthesizing it all for the recently released “Feelin’ Good,” which was recorded at his farmhouse on Ibiza. Sure, “Luna 2” hedges toward a sleek, synthetic feel, but the inclusion of acoustic-sounding keys is more than capable of tempering the slightest hint of anything objectionable. Opening with the cool jazz of a muted trumpet, “So Here We Are” cuts to the album’s intent. But the almost-seven-minute “Om Sweet H(Om)e” winds up being NoW’s master work—something akin to what Alice Coltrane would have come up with behind the boards. The album doesn’t feature work that’s liable to wind up recapturing the culture, but that might have more to do with NoW’s laser-guided vision for the album and his progression as a producer. (Dave Cantor)
November 22 at Lincoln Hall, 2424 North Lincoln, (773)525-2508. 10pm. $18-$20. 21+.
Related Stories
Music Top 5: August 2019 Hancock’s Miles Davis Quintet-backed piano chops, alongside Washington’s artful sax, assures a genre-bent night of jazz and beyond.
Godfather of Nightlife: Remembering Dave “Medusa” Shelton Shelton’s parties became known for debauchery at almost every turn: late nights spilling over into mornings and afternoons, with eyebrow-raising themes like funeral and barnyard decor.
Heart of Darkness: A Brief History of Chicago Industrial—Part One The bastardization of EBM, house and synthpop infiltrated suburban homes and Billboard charts. Bands like Nine Inch Nails, Skinny Puppy and Front Line Assembly were unexpected MTV stars and the scene spread worldwide
Music Top 5: November 2019 Preservation Hall Jazz Band performs music “A Tuba to Cuba,” the documentary that traces the iconic New Orleans ensemble's roots to that island, as well as new material.
RECOMMENDED
