General Elektriks - Cliquety Kliqk
By: Tyler Watson | Category: Album Reviews | 11/14/05 | 06:46 PM
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Grade: A- | Genre: Electronic
Summary: Nobody likes lounge music. But when you add some keyboard work that totally doesn't make you gag and some wonderful hip-hop beats, you've got solid gold. It's something that isn't anything like lounge music.
When I think of French music, the only things that come to mind are that little "Muffin Man" song (which is in no way related to France) and the accordion. These two stupid little mental associations will forever be overshadowed by General Elektriks. Things you should know about General Elektriks: * It's a one-man band. Herve Salters is some kind of crazy keyboard genius that has performed for Blackalicious, Maroons, Femi Kuti, etc.
* It's a Quannum Project. Jackpot!
* French people are awesome.
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Well looks like you're set to hear it yourself. I think it's important to realize that this is just one guy because there's a good amount of stuff going on. There are plenty of other one-man DJ/hip-hop musicians out there, but most of them suck. The rest are on Quannum.
So I think I speak for the world when I say that lounge music sucks. However, that's kind of what this album reminds me of. (Not that that's a bad thing. Stevie Wonder music reminds me of everything that I consider cheesy, but I love it anyway). It sounds like what I imagine you'd hear in a kitschy French cocktail lounge. A really, really forward-thinking and awesome cocktail lounge that I'd love to hang out in. And I mean kitschy in the best way possible. The only ingredients this album really has in common with the deplorable lounge CD my parents own are the keyboards and the drums. He does what their lounge CD musicians do with the keys but multiplies the goodness by, like, one dozen billions.
On the tracks were he sticks to the formula (if there is one for this type of thing), little bits of cool are tossed in that make it extremely hip somehow. See "Terms and Conditions Apply". I don't understand how this song is so good. I should hate this business. But then the woodwinds come in, he drops all sound for half-seconds at a time, Aphex Twin noises start floating about, and voices begin singing in something that's either French or English. It doesn't matter. This is amazing and beautiful and I don't want to ruin it by questioning it too much. On other tracks, you might think it's laid-back and schmaltzy, but then the keyboards start going crazy, the drums are everywhere, and Lateef the Truth Speaker starts giving you some words. It's so damn cool. The way all this stuff works together is unbelievable.
If it was just the drumming and singing, it would still be worth a listen. But you add tremendous keyboard work and the occasional raps and suddenly the drums and singing sound much better for some reason. It's greater than the sum of its parts, that's for sure. It's also got this extremely nimble quality to it, like Herve just sits there like "yeah, that's pretty cool" as he does these fantastic things with vintage synths, organs, and keys. This would work equally well as your soundtrack to work (or school) in the morning as it would as your early morning/late night wake up/sleep down record. I've been throwing it on at night when I'm in bed. It always takes me forever to fall asleep, so I might as well enjoy myself.
I love it when I'm thinking about an album, trying to think of what I don't like about it, and absolutely nothing comes up. Such is the case with Cliquety Kliqk.
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