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Now that jazz-tinged drum 'n bass can be heard everywhere from corporate coffee shops to car commercials, finding true innovators in the genre can be somewhat difficult. Thank goodness for Megashira, aka Jan Henning and Frank Marheineke. After making their mark as Germany's premier drum 'n bass outfit back in 1997 with Zero Hour, they're back with a stunning album of off-kilter beats and retro instrumentation. At Last is a stellar journey through the moodier areas of jazz and jungle fusion, eschewing worn-out compositions for clever, carefully crafted arrangements. Most of the songs center around the interaction amongst drums, electric or acoustic bass, vibraphone, and a combination of Rhodes, Hammond, and Wurlitzer keyboards. With each musical element recorded live and painstakingly pieced together, Megashira have created a thoroughly modern sonic landscape. Using such '60s era instruments brings an element of warmth to each track, infusing the entire album with life and a vaguely retro-futuristic nostalgia. Despite a relatively docile and simple overall feeling, the tracks on this album are actually rather complex. The title track starts off as typical light drum 'n bass fare, but morphs into a delicate number punctuated by touches of vibraphone and light hand-drumming. 'Time Tunnel', written in 31/16 time, plays easy keyboard work and simple bass off of an off-kilter, punch-drunk beat. "When Worlds Collide" works itself into a quirky jazz number, appropriately dark but with bright splashes of instrumentation here and there. 'Breaking Point' is another solid track, developing amped-up bass and vibraphone into a charmingly atonal exercise. At Last is an admirable progression from increasingly trite jazzy drum 'n bass. Placid on the surface, each song is oddly captivating, taking established conventions and twisting them about. Megashira have done it again, proving their worth with this otherworldly, delicately beautiful album.
http://www.kindamuzik.net/recensie/megashira/at-last/1180/
Meer Megashira op KindaMuzik: http://www.kindamuzik.net/artiest/megashira
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