on 2009-11-04 hstisgod Said:

good review...change it from comment if you have a minute...
Not Rated

on 2009-11-03 psycopcylon Said:

BudNubac's first album. The big, full sound of this latin and dub record is the product of a number of stylistic influences on Robin Taylor-Firth (aka BudNubac). From the Jamaican records he listened to in his youth; the dance music he has made with Olive (You're Not Alone) and his long-standing role as keyboardist/co-writer/programmer with Nightmares on Wax, come a musical motherlode that, with his application of hispanic elements, is unique.

The idea of bringing together a collection of talented musicians and allowing them to actually play their instruments seems simple, but does not actually happen as often as it should. Que Se Yo, working within a musical genre that updates the Cuban big band sound, gives ample scope for the instrumentalists in the band to shine. As a first album, it defines BudNubac's style: bringing Caribbean basslines and Taylor-Firth's Dub techniques into a fluent concordance with the latin sound of that other Caribbean island  Cuba. It makes perfect sense - Taylor-Firth's roots in a mainly Jamaican region of Sheffield, combined with the hispanic influences he picked up on moving to Spain, suggested the musical possibilities of such cultural combinations. Que Se Yo embraces the influences of its members, makes a mosaic of them, fills the room with warm, sunny sound.

The album has a number of moods. Hey Senorita is pure exuberance, with Miguel Migueis and Siobhan Gallagher sharing vocals on a sexy, high-energy piano-based floor-filler. Don't Follow the Flag is a more urban, hardfloor offering that segues seamlessly into I'm Gonna Follow  a sultry latin-loungey rhumba with a vocal that makes hairs stand up on the back of your neck. Indestructible features another outstanding vocal from Sara Garvey in a smouldering r'n'b meets latin style.
Fluty Loops and D?jalo Tio tap into the listener's psyche - with trippy dubbing and sweeping stringwash. Other tracks are a showcase of the band's musical virtuosity, with bursting trumpet breaks from Enrico Marchese; Andrew 'Shovell' Lovell's high-energy percussion; and demonic piano mayhem from Taylor-Firth.

Free EP of remixed tracks with album download from http://blancomusic.com/que-se-yo

Rating: 10/10