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Ursula Rucker | Supa Sista

CD, K7/Zomba

Tekst: Omar Muñoz-Cremers

Publicatiedatum: 08 oktober 2001

The voice of seduction on a mythical scale, that's Ursula Rucker. "Sirens have nothing on my song," she proudly proclaimed on the mind-shattering 'Circe', a sublime tale of a mythical woman, and she was right. Her voice fills me with awe; it has a stern edge that speaks with authority but through it, always, slithers an eroticism that can consist of intimate whispers as well as inhuman bliss. Let's face it: Ursula Rucker is the ultimate pretender, she speaks the tongue of the gods, the mythical and the archetypal. She can sing with the voice of every woman: Helen of Troy watching how wars are fought over her, Athena whispering wise words to Ulysses, but also the anonymous mothers and sisters of history. Rucker in this sense belongs to a precious group of singers who find strength and beauty in the pagan. Think Patti Smith, Kate Bush, and Björk. That good. As with Björk and late-period Bush, this voice works best in an electronic sound world. You need otherworldly sounds to carry such words, and you need spaces where the voice can float free. On 'Supa Sista' Rucker uses an arsenal of producers (4-Hero, Robert Yancey III, Tim Motzer, Alexkid), yet in spite of their differences there remains a strong overarching tone throughout the album. It is really not surprising that the album is released on !K7, home of Kruder & Dorfmeister, because sonically it effortlessly fits into that spaced-out jazzy lounge dub vibe. Lyrically, Rucker this time seems to eschew mythical subjects for more worldly issues, but always, on tracks as 'Womansong', 'Letter to a Sister Friend'’ and 'Philadelphia Child', she is looking at things from a strong female perspective. Only once does she really fail to connect: 'Digichant' is a somewhat naive Luddite warning regarding the dangers of digital technology. Highlights of the collection are of course both 4-Hero productions '7' and 'What???', which both advance the chamber-jungle idea of their recent work, and the refreshing bossanova that is the title track. Best of all is the King Britt-produced 'Spring', a heady mix of tablas, dub, Stereolab vocals, and starry Rhodes notes. And so another fine chapter in what looks to become one of the year's great pleasures: the female voice getting lost in electronic circuitry. 2001. A siren of silicon I should turn to be.

http://www.kindamuzik.net/recensie/ursula-rucker/supa-sista/1147/
Meer Ursula Rucker op KindaMuzik: http://www.kindamuzik.net/artiest/ursula-rucker