Recent content by Ivan Conte

I'm obviously referring here to her new single :D

I quite like the concept but the music I find uninteresting... it's like some decaff version of Massive Attack circa "Mezzanine". She was great when she teamed up with Sly & Robbie, though.

Well, this is nothing new. It's getting more media attention now and probably more divas are signed and marketed in the US, but there is a long tradition of female singers appropriating northamerican music styles. Think about Dusty Springfield, for instance! I actually don't like most of what...

Now that's a good example!

I also quite like Spaceape... but I agree that his voice is maybe too present in the Kode9 album. A mix of instrumental and vocal tracks would have worked better IMO. I'm not saying I don't like that album, though, because I actually love it, but it's not flawless.

Yeah, you're (obviously) right :D As I said, I actually quite liked J Dilla's article. I think they are both mandatory reading if one wants to understand the evolution of hip hop / RnB in the last decade.

... or if you read in an invisible jukebox that Andre WK has produced the new Lee Perry cd. Reading your opinions I am wondering which styles or bands you would like to see on the cover of The Wire. Personally, I wouldn't mind if they were less afraid of covering areas closer to the...

I have to admit that the "perceived relative coolness" of Portishead left me unable to listen to them for a looong time. Actually, it was not until a few months ago that I decided to give their cds another chance, and I realised how great they are. I have to say that this is a little bit more...

And didn't the cult of authenticity die with Roxy Music? By the way, the article on Roxy Music is another highlight to be found among the recent issues of the Wire. I think I'll always prefer the meaty critics, those who risk and put at stake their credibility in order to defend a new way of...

Most of the articles nomos mentioned -Wiley, UR, Burial, etc- are actually among the best pieces of music journalism I read in 2007. The coverage of minimal techno is also worth praising. I can't wait to receive the new number and read the cover article on Wolfgang Voigt. Most of the articles on...

At the moment I'm not feeling this album as I thought I would, might change my opinion in a few weeks / months, who knows... but at the moment, I can't find any solid reason to overcome an obstacle i.e. most of the good reviews I have read refer to this album as being an "honest" comeback...

And don't forget the articles on J Dilla, Benga and Robert Hood in the issue with Gudrun Gut on the cover... not to mention the excellent Henry Cow Primer. You can check The Wire's blog here . The Spanish critic I mentioned before is Cesar Estabiel. One of the few who is interested in the...

Well, I do find the Wire's blog interesting, and Mark Fisher's ever-growing prominence in the magazine is actually invigorating the mag. Furthermore, I agree with most of what he says regarding the new Portishead album, which to me is too dull to be liked in any way, and it goes one step...