Flanger "Midnight Sound" Ntone/Ninja Tune CD 40 2000 (50:47)
Nightbeat 1 (3:53)
Bosco's Disposable Driver (5:51)
Midnight
Sound (5:22)
We Move (5:58)
So What (6:11)
Human
Race Race (5:34)
Angel of Love (6:38)
Nightbeat 2 (4:04)
Stepping
Out of My Dream (7:16)
Flanger is the prolific German duo of Bernd Friedmann (Burnt Friedman & The Nu Dub Players, Nonplace Urban Field, etc) and Uwe Schmidt (Atom Heart, Señor Coconut, etc). This is their 2nd album, follow-up to last year's "Templates", both on Ninja Tune's Ntone subdivision. "Midnight Sound" evolves beyond the debut with a more humanized fusion of organic and electronic latin flavors and jazz sensibilities, very similar to Burnt Friedman's "Con Ritmo". Most tracks are in the mid to high tempo range save for the album's bookends. "Nightbeat 1" and "Stepping Out of My Dream" both offer up slow brushed snare smokiness, the latter an especially compelling 7+ minute piece of sonic mood art that alone is worth the price of entry for the disc. A vibe heavy, horn free interpretation of the Miles Davis classic "So What" is a respectfully well done treat. The rest are faster paced, chock full of all sorts of rapid-fire bass, vibe, organ and key lines and programmed pseudo-drum 'n bass beats augmented by Friednman's additional percussion flair. Several songs slowly dissolve at times to reveal the electro-glitch and micro-beat underbellies beneath the bossa nova. "Midnight Sound" is simply sublime. Get this and "Con Ritmo" to fill your crossbred future-jazz needs for awhile ...
Bernd Friedmann
Bernd
Friedmann (the semi-official homepage)
Atom
Heart
Nonplace
Ninjatune
Where did I get this cd? - mail order via Amazon.