The following is a bit late - i got the record as early as mid-june - but i
think someone could be interested anyway:
Sorb-i-tol - Piste cd (plastic passion, 2000)
Starting with a bit cheesy agent-latin tunes, the Sorb-i-tol cd slows it�s
pitch into mellow, spacey and haunting downtempo. The four-member piece
seems to have an attraction towards movie sounds, especially spaghetti
western, agent flicks, blaxploitation and sixties sci-fi. Imagine yourself
in a Mexican fiesta interrupted by a pack of Black Panther hijackers
wielding Klaus Wunderlich-style Hammonds. Within a flash, the
Shaft-Guerrillas take you into a kung-fu fight with the Man Clint himself.
When you wake up you find yorself in the capsule of 2001 - a space Odyssey
instead of a dirty wild west back-alley between saloon and jail. That�s
Sorb-i-tol concept in brief.
Personally, the further downtempo the group goes, the better the cd gets.
The fast agent tracks in the beginning have some problems with accuracy on
rhythm tracks. Also, some trac structures are a bit weird. Take "Freeze!"
for instance: song starts with a jazzy Herbie Hancock/Roy Ayers/Sun
Ra-midtempo feel, Suddenly Isaac Hayes or someone of the like throws his
horns in and the chase starts. And then as soon as the chase starts it
stops. and Sun ra is back again. A bit wack of a structure, innit? Funny it
is though. But nevemind that. When the stuff gets downtempo sci-fi, it gets
xcellent. Especially tracks like "Obesa", "Piste" and "The Street of Liza"
are worth mentioning. The stuff builds a mixture of artists like Lackluster,
Luke Vibert, Boards of Canada and Peshay (when on a slow pace) with a bit of
Ennio Morricone added. And some nice Theremin.
So, if you�re into agent-shaft-style acid jazz, forget Sorb-i-tol. The
original seventies fusion funksters or more contraty artists like James
Taylor Quartet or Sugarman Three do it way better. But when if
leftfield/downtempo is your piece of cake, then Sorb-i-tol is worth checking
out. Definitely.
Info:
Sorb-i-tol, pl 2, 21570 Sauvo, Finland
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://sorb.go.to
or
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://plastic.start.at
so, that�s it
--
"rewiew king" h
http://commie.oy.com
