Luke Vibert / BJ Cole "Stop the Panic" Astralwerks ASW 48797-2 2000 (62:42)
Intro (:55)
Swinging
Lite - Alright (3:32)
Dischordzilla (4:27)
Start the Panic (4:46)
Hipalong Hop (4:23)
Fly
Hawaii (4:53)
This Stuff is Fresh (6:04)
Cheng Phooey (8:28)
Baby Steps (6:57)
Party
Animal (4:01)
Nick Cave (3:54)
Water Glass Planet (Pt. 3) (6:28)
Songs of the Night Life (3:54)
Produced, arranged & mixed by Luke Vibert & BJ Cole. All programming - Luke Vibert. All steel guitars, Cheng etc - BJ Cole. Additional musicians: Bobby Valentino - violin, mandolin, guitar. Ben Davies - cello. Guy Jackson - synthesizer, piano, additional engineering. Tom Jenkinson - electric bass. Andy Hamill - double bass. Jeremy Simmonds - percussion.
Luke Vibert (aka Wagon Christ, Plug, etc.) teams up with legendary pedal steel guitarist BJ Cole (further augmented by six additional musicians including Tom Jenkinson aka Squarepusher) for what would seem to be a bizarre and unlikely collaboration. The result is as eclectic as the back catalogs of both players ... and it works. The 13 tracks ignore the traditional boundaries of numerous genres, freely exploring and combining dance, ambient, lounge, country & western, Hawaian, swing, jazz, etc. Cole's pedal steel adds a unique vibe to Vibert's goofy samples and hip hop-lite beats, whether it be as ambient backing or lead licks. It almost seems as if Cole's parts are merely samples but that's the thing, they're not. The blend of 'real' and machine music is seamless and sounds natural. Three tracks also have vocals, which is unfortunate in the case of Addie Brik's whining and moaning on "Nick Cave" but funny in the case of Bobby Valentino's spoken intro and outro pieces. And with track titles like "Swing Lite - Alright", "Hipalong Hop", "This Stuff is Fresh" and "Party Animal" ... how can you possibly go wrong? "Stop the Panic" isn't mindblowing, but I don't think it's intended to be. It's certainly interesting and a lot of fun. It's always good to hear talented musicians from such supposedly different generations and musical worlds collaborate. Vibert and Cole are currently on tour in Europe ...
BJ Cole
Phat Luke.
Nightmare at Brainwashed
Where did I get this cd? - mail order via Riouxs Records.