a r t i s t : Sex Mob
t i t l e : Sexotica
d a t e : 2006
l a b e l : Thirsty Ear
g e n r e : Jazz
r l s. d a t e : Sep/2006
t r a c k s : 09
b i t r a t e : VBRkbps
s i z e : 70,1 MB
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Sexotica is Sex Mob's homage to Martin Denny and the sound of
Exotica, but don't go in expecting a Quiet Village. Instead,
it seems like the idea was to create their own very personal
sound-world, much the way Denny did, but using different tools
and sounds. In many ways, it's just another step in a logical
progression for Sex Mob. They've never been afraid of using
studio tricks; previous releases were co-produced by Scotty
Hard who added some of his own sonic treatments, but this time
out the entire album is a full-on collaboration between the
production team of Good and Evil (Danny Blume and Christian
Castagno) and the band, where the music and production are
practically equal players. The tunes were recorded live in the
studio (first or second takes), with Kenny Wollesen
overdubbing various percussion. Then the tapes were simply
handed over to Blume and Castagno to do what they wanted
keeping in mind leader Steven Bernstein's admonition to divide
the sound about equally between the band tracks and the
production. It's a trippy and sometimes confusing mix of
organic instrumentation and production techniques that often
makes it difficult to figure out who's doing what. There are
Briggan Krauss' saxophones, Bernstein's slide trumpet, Tony
Scherr on bass and Wollesen's drums and percussion (all of
which may or may not be treated), but there's also scratching,
samples, bits of studio chatter, crazy stereo panning, rhythm
boxes and programming, dub techniques and bits of sonic
flotsam and jetsam that all weave in and out through the mix.
Oh yeah, it grooves like crazy too, from the tribal "Pygmy
Suite" to the slinky "Quiet to the ferocious ending of "7
Bars". Bernstein and Krauss are both wonderfully deranged
players when they want to be, and there's some nice soloing on
Sexotica, but it's more about feel and mood on this album than
soloing. Sex Mob's mission has always been to bring Jazz back
into the popular mainstream, not as a museum piece but as
music of the people: Dance music, the way it was before the
business of music took precedence over the music. They play
loose, they play fun, and they play to make you move. There's
never been a jazz album that sounded like this, but Sex Mob
has been in a league of their own for some time now. Jazz
purists will hate it, but that's part of the fun too. If
you've got an ear for adventurous jazz and a good groove, make
travel plans to go to Sex Mob's land of Sexotica. It's quite a
trip.
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01-Pygmy Suite [05:11]
02-Martin Denny [06:32]
03-Exotique [05:44]
04-Luvin' Blume [04:56]
05-Quiet [05:34]
06-Oakland [03:40]
07-Dick Contino's Blues [05:46]
08-Kid Rock Deluxe [05:19]
09-7 Bars [04:47]
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47:29 min