BBC Review
Improvised Ethiopian music that, at times, goes nowhere.
Jon Lusk 2009-09-02
If you’ve heard Dub Colossus’s 2008 debut on Real World, then parts of this may sound familiar. Invisible System is an alias for UK producer Dan Harper, who began work on this series of spontaneous jams with local musicians in Addis Ababa before the Dub Colossus Ethiopian dub album was recorded in the studio he had built there. Later, he invited various UK-based musicians to contribute. This makes for a wide range of styles and, occasionally, inspired sound collisions on an otherwise fairly middling ‘world fusion’ album.
Harper’s guest musicians include members of Ozric Tentacles, Eat Static, Transglobal Underground and Loop Guru as well as Captain Sensible, Justin Adams and Gambian one-stringed fiddle player Juldeh Camara. Among the Ethiopian singers is Dub Colossus’s Desta Fikra, whose voice appears on the sparse, dubby opener Hode Baba, with Camara’s sinuous accompaniment twining around it. She’s also there at the close, in the rowdy drum‘n’bass-flavoured setting of Dankira.
However, between these two highlights, the album sags in several places. “It just seems to come from nowhere,” declares Harper of his jamming with the musicians – he plays guitars, bass, synths, didgeridoos, percussion and handles programming as well as showing us how not to design a sleeve. Unfortunately, much of Punt also goes nowhere, as is often the case with music ‘improvised, from scratch’, even by accomplished musicians.
Aside from several numbers that simply drag, such as Min Atefahu, there are some pleasant surprises. Vocalist Mahmoud Ahmed, a veteran star of Francis Falceto’s stunning Ethiopiques series, is a welcome and instantly recognisable presence on the Ethiopian blues of Melkam Kehonelish. The crickets and sounds of children at play that invade Sewbekagn add atmosphere, but the song meanders aimlessly and is beset by psychedelic guitar noodling and listless drumming. But Yeteleye Fikir successfully combines an elastic traditional hand-drum sound with digital beats and didgeridoo drone.
Did I say it was a charity album? Well, that shouldn’t really colour one’s judgement. Much of this is simply undemanding and undistinguished. With duff tracks removed, it would have made a good EP.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Licence. If you choose to use this review on your site please link back to this page.
© MMIX
Comments
You need to sign in to contribute to this page. If you haven't registered to leave comments, creating your membership is quick and easy.
This looks interesting - I have heard about it from other sites and feel it is time to take a listen....
Complain about this comment
I have found a website for the label www.harperdiabate.com - which has a lot of reviews from national and international press on there (very good reviews) but no sound-bytes which is a shame.... myspace appears to be mainy live from a concert in addis but itunes appears to be coming up with the goods - just started to listen, very eclectic.. interesting seems to go from quite relaxing to very 'clubby' on first scan.
Complain about this comment
Well Dave, obviously I am fonder of those the other press reviews (all on the harper diabate website) But, you don't get the ying without the yang! Jon's review did make me laugh in places and everyone has different taste so I am not bothered. We have had enough good ens. I don't like much a lot of the albums Jon has given better reviews to, but that doesn't mean they are bad albums, just not for me. There were a few comments above that made me cringe though that didn't quite seem necessary;) The psychedelic CD cover is supposed to be 'overloaded' in colour etc to make it psy, and rough to show how the CD was made. Some of the art is by Boswell/Warp who does the Eat Static and Ozric Tentacles covers and Warp graffiti art in Bristol (see the book Children of the Can about him, Banksy and various others..) - listless drumming was deliberate although in my book it is not listless it is inspiration from growing up on post punk like early Cure and Joy Division. Minimal. The album will make you aware of bands I like ranging from Can (improv only structureless kraut rock) to ozrics, dub (heavy long dub), psy rock, dance, post punk and club music etc. I am not a world music fan as per norm, but I love the vocals on it and psy/dub trad instruments. I also love e.g. many tracks from early Habibe Koite, Oumou live rocks, Lobe Toure live (his loud hendrix like jams, not the studio softer stuff), baba's good when not overproduced etc - and I have a healthy stack of early rough Malian tapes courtesy of my wife that I love! I had been waiting for the first less positive review as I thought more world journalists would not like it. Especially if they are into more traditional world music and structure it is not for them. Whereas e.g. psy rock fans, dance music fans etc may start listening to more world music through it;) David Hutchenson in Mojo this week wrote 'you can imagine this becoming a mind exploding rave clasic' so maybe it needs to be reviewed in indie/rock and dance/electronic music sections instead!
Cheers
Dan
Complain about this comment
Hi Dan,
Great to have the man behind the project on here Dan. I have listened to the album now but there is so much in there I feel I need to listen for about a week before I write again. I do like it though. Very original and refreshing that something new has arrived. I was expected another dub jazz world album or one of the more 'tv-ad type' 4/4's. I like the certain rough and deep edge to it matching with sheen of technology. Also interesting that you have not stuck to one style, or tried to copy the Ethiopian style. I think that is credit to you. More when I have had a chance to digest. Best Dave
Complain about this comment
Ok, Dan. I have been listening on and off until late last night and today at work. I need to keep listening! I agree with many of the reviews on your website that there are so many layers, stories, ideas, genres to this album that it just demands you listen to it again and again. I find the albums I still listen to over time are the ones that need multiple listens and that grow on you, not the instant pop. I really like this album. Well done for bringing something new to the table and not repeating the old recipes of DJ and other producer 'world fusion' albums. I strongly agree with most of the comments on the reviews at harper diabate.com :) Interesting that the Financial Times gave it 5 stars, and very interesting that many of the known world music journalists have given it critical acclaim especially given what you wrote above. Back for another listen then, Dave.
Complain about this comment
Well I hope you don't have to listen to it as many times as I had to to mix and master it.. Those tracks were originally all around 20 min jams so you can imagine... Thanks for the positive feedback. Yes I have been very happy with the critical acclaim from the likes of Mojo, Guardian, Independent, FT, fRoots, USA mags/sites/newspapers etc etc. It has also been played on e.g. BBC Asian Net (Pathaan's musical rickshaw), Late Junction, World Service, Radio New Zealand, RRR Australia, and I have lost count of how many stations in the USA. There is also an interview with me you can still download with Trevor Reekie, Radio New Zealand on their site. There is also a great article by Jamie Renton / fRoots available for download (e.g. at www.harperdiabate.com) which stated something along the lines of (by memory) - Dan likens his process of composition to that of sculpting but don't let that put you off, there is no prissiness of art galleries here, Dan has a taste for the rough and the raw drawing in some of Ethiopia's best roots musicians.' That had me in bits laughing :) A very clever man, Jamie Renton. Some good insights on that piece which he condensed from 1 hour of talking on the telephone. I should imagine he has a similar outlook on life, politics etc to me. Perhaps the same anger with xs bureaucracy and not enough getting things done/changing and addressing problems with poverty that I do. More traditional/conservative/structured (I am not sure how to put it) people generally won't get on so well with this album (although some have actually much to my surprise). Anyhow, back to work... Thanks again. Dan
Complain about this comment
I am tired of all the talk of "world music". Frankly, I find it rather dated. I presented and roducedf a music show on the BBC World Service for Africa between 1992 and 1998 and also made music shows for SA and Lufthansa. I never once used that term to refer to music made by Africans and their fellow musicians from elsewhere as I found it too restricting. At the end of the day attempts to classify miss the point. Like Alan Watts said about religion: "If you try to capture running water in a bucket it is clear that you do not understand it and that you will always be disappointed. To have running water you must let go of it and let it run". The same is true of music and this album. I encourage everyone to check it out, but not try to capture it..just feel it. Also be aware that there is the right time and place for different experiences, the same is true of music. I don't listen to Miles Davis in a Silent Way as soon as I wake up as it doesnt work for me then, however I won't say that the music "doesnt work" because I listened to it then. As I recently told Dan, the perfect time to hear "Punt" here in Addis Ababa where I live, is at that special time of the day when dusk turns to night, preferably in a car with a pumping soundsystem. (Note: Dan Harper is a good friend of mine..but these views are entirely my own)
Complain about this comment
Hi Max, good points. Justin Adams always said of this record it reminds him of Miles Davis - On The Corner with the clashing/colliding/jamming etc and he has heard the originals (about 20 mins of jamming each track!)
He predicted it to become a cult album, long life, not top of the pops obviously..
I don't like the term world music either. English music is world music. We all make music in this world. African music, Asian music, Skandinavian music, it's all world music. Cultural fusion music maybe for this album?
To be honest, it should probably be reviewed in the electronic / dance or indie / rock section anyhow ;)
Complain about this comment
Dan if you read again, have you got any other recordings to come?
Complain about this comment
Sorry Dave I did not see your reply as all comments are not visible on the BBC website, only if you click view in RSS which isn't great. Would be better if you could scroll down them all from the BBC site... ;) But yes, there are other albums on the way but I have not decided if to do 1 CD (more upbeat) with Dennis Wint from The Rhythmites on vocals only (who I play live with); or else to do a double album 1 with dennis and 1 with more Ethiopian fusion I have on my hard drive, a traditional Ethiopian track, and some with another Jamaican rasta on vocals I recorded with who had relocated to Shashamene... Ideas welcome.... Obviously costs more in money and time to put a double out but may make sense. Best Dan
Complain about this comment
Uncut Mag review the album in the current issue, and at last journalists (and DJs e.g. Gideon Coe on BBC6 Music are playing, writing and working out it is not a 'world music' album;)
Uncut – Nigel Williamson
New rave goes global….
Taking ethnic music recorded in Addis Ababa and layering it with western psych/trance/techno/dance vibes is a risky enterprise-but having spent almost a decade as an aid worker in Africa Dan Harper is better placed than most to try. To the thrilling voices of Ethiopian main star Mahmoud Ahmed and others, he’s added Transglobal Underground/Ozric Tentacles-style synths, Cpt Sensible’s dubby bass, Just Adams’best Steve Hillage imitation and Mali’s Juldeh Camara sawing away on his eerie one-string fiddle. At times it all sounds a little too frenetic, but the rave crowd may love such deranged energy.
Just back from playing a banging set at Thimbleberry Festival with Jamaican Dennis on vocals. That will Dave as I said, be the next album.
Cheers
Dan
Complain about this comment
How wrong can a reviewer be! Quite surprised by this review for the BBC. Read the other ones as mentioned above/below. I have to admit I agree with those. This is a refreshing, long standing album with much to say. Very well done indeed.
Complain about this comment
I heard this drum and bass world punk track on Gideon Coen's show (the one with Captain Sensible guesting) and it blew my head off. I went to see them live and after some dub, reggae and dance, they blew my head sky high. Quite an experience. Apparently the new album is more like this (having spoken to them afterwards).
Complain about this comment
Ok. I have some questions after initially finding this album on the US reviewed www.altsounds.com website today. (a very good review see below)
1) Why is this reviewed in the World section when it is so obvious it is actually a dance / electronic album (again see altsounds review below)?
2) Why is the reviewer so rude and unprofessional? Is this a personal dig?
3) In my opinion, the reviewer needs his ears cleaned and mind opened.
4) I am a dance music reviewer, I love the album, downloaded on ITunes today
http://hangout.altsounds.com/reviews/112099-invisible-system-punt-album.html
Complain about this comment
Here is the review direct:
Invisible System offers an eclectic fusion of trance, dub, and world dance music with “Punt.” “Punt” is almost autobiographical of musician Dan Harper. Styles picked up from his days of electronica, on through his humanitarian work in Ethiopia, can all be heard on “Punt.” As varied in contributing musicians (Mahmoud Ahmed, Captain Sensible) as it is stylistically, “Punt” can at times feel like the rantings of a jet-set, schizophrenic raver. However, the overall vibe is one of trance-fusion, peaceful, groovy, and otherworldly. Never mind the occasional guitar wail, it doesn’t bite.
'I’m Worried He’s Moving' opens the album with a little dubstep. Vocalist Desta Fikri, featured prominently on "Punt," beautifully accentuates the flowing bass, and worldly ritti on this track. An excellent opening track, 'I’m Worried He’s Moving' showcases world style instrumentation, the vocal work of Fikri, and the dancehall / electronic rhythms that we find all through "Punt." Few of the tracks step too far away from this groove. Notably we have 'What Have I Done Wrong?' (a strong rocker), the hip hop influenced 'Gondar,' and 'Dance City Boy,' a track heavy in break beats. On 'Dance City Boy' we also hear some respectable guitar work from Captain Sensible of The Damned. Moderately thrashy in comparison to rest of the album, 'Dance City Boy' lands somewhere between gabber and rock.
It's clear that Harper is led by his compassion. He's managed to illustrate the process of identification between an English sound and the music of this African nation. Ethiopia is generally considered the jumping off point of human migration. A starting line for mans expansion. With "Punt," Invisible System has managed to bring us all back home.
Complain about this comment
A few notes for you all:
Old Invisible System Jesus Jones remix for free download on there site http://www.jesusjones.com/cvremixes/index.php (written in the back of a landrover on a laptop roaming 35 hour tours in backroads of Ethiopia - you can hear it rattling!)
www.myspace.com/invisiblesystem tracks here also
www.twitter.com/invisiblesystem
Invisible System group and page on www.facebook.com
and new http://invisiblesystem.blogspot.com/
Ps thanks for all your support and comments
:)
Dan
Complain about this comment
View these comments in RSS