s w e e t b e a t s
february.20.2002 - #864
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artist : Troublemakers
album : Too Old to Die
year : 2002
label : Guidance Recordings / Pias
genre : Lo-Fi
catalogue : PIASF 069 CDM
url : www.troublemakers.fr
quality : CD 192k HQ True Stereo
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01.Too Old to Die (Original Mix) 04:50
02.Too Old to Die (Remix by Geisha) 06:04
03.Afghan (Live) 07:24
04.Groover is Back (Live) 06:51
04 tracks | 25:09 mins | 34,6 MB
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This is the first CDM out of the Troublemakers' brilliant debut
album "Doubts & Convictions". It features both the original version
and a remix by Geisha (available as well on the reissue of the
album) of the track 'Too Old to Die' and two live tracks.
--sb
Their first effort was masterful. The Troublemakers' "Doubts &
Convictions" has all the expressiveness of the best of current
electronic music. The reputed Chicago label Guidance, which is
bringing out their first album in early 2001, has picked a winner.
There are three Troublemakers: DJ Oil (in the funk and downtempo
mould), Fred Berthet (who has a more electro and techno approach)
and Arnaud Taillefer (an all-rounder who is at ease with
electro-acoustic music, hip-hop and filmic references). The project
was born in Marseille, an industrial metropolis on the
Mediterranean coast. The city's urban frenzy, the seaport, the sea,
and its activity - the milling city, its warehouses, its racial and
cultural mix, and its now well-known hip-hop scene - inspire the
group's creative work, even if the group do not display any
Marseille identity. "Our music could have been conceived anywhere",
they affirm.
The Troublemakers were surprised to find that Guidance was
interested in them. Theirs is only the second album to be recorded
on this label, which normally produces maxis, although Guidance's
catalogue recently moved more towards downtempo with its Subtitled
division.
An American label? "It's a bit difficult to manage, but it is
effective: it makes us independent of the 'French Touch phenomenon'
", DJ Oil states with satisfaction. And as a result of the group's
first maxi, "Electrorloge/Street Preacher/Mister Moulin", which is
currently in the stores, people are already speaking of them as the
promising heirs to the French electronic scene.
With its organic, uncluttered compositions, the Troublemakers'
album has rare richness, depth and emotional immediacy. The mastery
of "Doubts & Convictions" lies in strong inspiration for measured
rhythm sections (often downtempo, tinged with jazz sounds) and
acoustic atmospheres (strings, pianos, vibraphone, double bass,
clarinet, and acoustic guitar, finely sampled). It is structured
with electro, cool and contemplative vigour, which can go into top
gear to reach the engaging warmth of seventies funk.
So it can be surprising to hear them say: "We didn't know each
other when we started - we just felt that we were complementary to
each other".
The eclectic range of "Doubts & Convictions" extends with concision
from the voluptuous Blue Note style jazz lounge sound to urban
bursts of adrenaline, like DJ Shadow, Kruder & Dorfmeister and
artists of the German Compost label, their declared influences, or
more classic influences such as Ninja Tune and Mo' Wax, which have
made their mark on today's music.
The Troublemakers' palette is varied, with many subtle changes of
emotion. They want to instil the nature and secret of this
"trouble", which is their signature.
--troublemakers.fr
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s w e e t b e a t s
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greetings to klangwerk, mgc, sour, dh, impg & sfe
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