• achtergronden
• DE 7EVEN
• video's
• agenda

ernaast

Chris Bowden | Slightly Askew

Chris Bowden means serious business.
CD, Ninja Tune/Zomba

Tekst: Dave Roozendaal

Publicatiedatum: 06 juli 2002

Quite disconcerting to Yours Truly, this new album by Chris Bowden is. After the tremendous acclaim for the brilliant Beautiful Nasty 12" and his successful collaboration with drum 'n' bass pioneers 4Hero (especially on their 2 Pages album), expectations for Slightly Askew were fairly high. Well, right from the start of the thirteen-minute-long Only Angst, it is clear that the man means business. The track is one big jam, seemingly improvised: as jazzy as jazz can get. And just when you think you're in for another hour of finger-snapping and chin-stroking, in comes Crockers And Killers, a 4Hero-ish track with soulful female vocals over continuous changes of rhythm and tempo and ever-exciting broken beats. The track sounds like a jam one moment, only to break into a mainstream, straight-up jazz song the next, and back again. Next up is ZOO ZOO, which has me torn between nausea, caused by those typical jazz solos, and sheer delight over the gorgeous strings and laid-back moods. Same goes for the fourth track, Only Angst (the only cut on the album under the fifteen minutes), and last track W'p De F'n' Doo.
Slightly Askew is one of those albums that grows on you, changing the meaning of "askew" from "despicable" to "crooked" with every turn.
Despicable is bad, crooked is good.

http://www.kindamuzik.net/recensie/chris-bowden/slightly-askew/1678/
Meer Chris Bowden op KindaMuzik: http://www.kindamuzik.net/artiest/chris-bowden