Extended Spirit
Solid Water
[Sonar Kollektiv/Dialog]
Rating: 7.7
Solid Water is a prime example of nu-jazz. This genre should really
scare you. You should be alert to the hideous potential of such a term.
Even before I became aware that such a thing existed, I was experiencing
bed- wetting nightmares about Mike Oldfield collaborating with Jam and
Spoon, the concept of Kenny G. cutting soprano sax- rug with, say, Utah
Saints, or the limitless terror of the Rippingtons jamming with Howie B.
This, naturally, precipitates me into a delirium of no small dimension.
But maybe, on the evidence of Solid Water, I shouldn't be so timid.
First, though, let me get through my barbs: the title, I mean, it's so
George Winston, or maybe it's a leftover from the Winter 1987 Windham
Hill compilation. Surely, the band can't be referencing John Martyn's
posthumous advice to fellow folkie, Nick Drake (who cannot be left alone
now, ever since Belle and Sebastian and Whistler reared their homespun
selves-– why doesn't anybody pick on Cat Stevens?). Can they?
Extended Spirit are not corrupted middle- aged men who disguise
themselves in paisley- print vests and open shirts and inundate God's
glorious creation with instrumental bilge water. They are members of the
German movement that has given us God's glorious creation Jazznova,
Beanfield, and even the Compost Label (named after the roster's
fecundity, no doubt).
Solid Water has a squelchy, squirmy, mulchy, and compostular
opening cut, too. "Fadin' In" does more than, well, fade in; it gets you
in the mood for a joyful sixty minutes, bouncy with diminished chords and
stylish augmented sevenths. Extended Spirit intend to get modal on your
supine booty! "Pressure '98" lulls initially with breathy female vocals
la-la-ling over a subdued Rhodes piano before the breakbeats thrust
forward and roll over on top of an acoustic bass line. Extended Spirit
aren't about to emulate 4 Hero's labored "Two Pages." Instead, they want
their fun to be your fun.
"Propulsion" could be an Irresistible Force track, if Mixmaster Morris
persuaded A Tribe Called Quest to lend him a silly Q-Tip sample ("This is
how they do it!"). But Extended Spirit don't have the same "lie down and
be counted" agenda as the Irresistible Force. "Propulsion," an effortless,
effervescent groove that makes you doff your frown and feel a little
euphoric, belongs up there with "Floatation" by erstwhile Balearic wonders,
the Grid. The record's title track is ushered in with slow congas and a
sleepy piano bassline. It's completely overshadowed by "Propulsion," of
course, but it's not without class, by any means.
Before you get into the remixes, "Illicity" will smooth away any residual
wrinkles and give you the chills to boot. Initally, the track is reliant
on strings and a stand-up bass to subdue you, but it later becomes
everything that L.T.J. Bukem has tried to achieve. (To my ears, Bukem
depends too heavily on Vangelis' soundtrack to "Blade Runner" for
inspiration and ambience.)
Though Extended Spirit use very Bukem-esque
breakbeats on the later parts of "Illicity," their eerie, despondent,
barely sung sample ("I don't like to be alone/ In the street") casts a
shadowy, baleful pall over the track-- an indistinct menace that marks
Extended Spirit out as vastly superior to the heavy- handed Bukem and his
wearisome acolytes. The album's final track before the remixes is an original, more robust
version of "Pressure" bustling with rampant hi-hats and a careening melody
line bolstered by a lightning Rhodes piano solo for which Jamiroquai's
Jason Kay would probably trade in his new Lamborghini.
Of the four remixes at the end of the disc, the AVDC's take on
"Propulsion" deserves special mention, being as close to full- on house
music as this record gets, though it'd be a daring DJ who dropped this
tune into the set. AVDC's remix replaces the resplendent, Mediterreanean
vibe of the original with a brooding, wary, injured groove. When Q-Tip's
sample enters, it's more like words of warning than of applause.
My profound worries about enduring muso- toss, purposeless melismatics,
and concealed new age earnestness have proved entirely foundless.
Extended Spirit's spin on nu-jazz gives you all the delectable, sunny
stuff you could wish for. They've just cut the joy with a lingering,
sobering disquiet.
-Paul Cooper