Jamie Lidell

[michael]

I wasn't into the new album - felt a bit like, um, this is totally unfair, but The Commitments soundtrack or something.

I saw a Super_Collider show at The End in London in '99 and Mr Lidell was using one ear of a pair of headphones as a mic... as brutal and dirty sounding as you might imagine. Worlds away from any supposed soul man antics.

As per my starting post, still listen to 'Multiply' plenty, as well as Super_Collider's 'Raw Digits'. Both are great I reckon. They're both very synthetic, for sure - as in they synthesise a lot of stuff...

 

[mms]

Largely agree with mms. I saw him earlier this year and had a really good time. His band were really 'tight' (hate that phrase) and his voice was pretty good. He also did have a segment where the band left and he looped/delayed his voice while doing 4/4 stuff on a sampler. Yeah, his previous stuff may have been more interesting but he still puts on a really good show imo. The album he released this year had some amazing tracks on it too, esp. 'Green Light'.

yeah green lights pretty lovely.
i do wish he'd look for a way of easily seguing the looping subtracting adding overloading to the soul man stuff though, I saw him at the bar fly once when he wasn't too happy and he gave a show as raw as anything i've heard mark stewart do, overloaded and angry but still funky and it was amazing.

 

[dave]

I love Jamie Lidell. So does my 3 year old, his second favourite song is the "so tired song" aka Multiply. But then again his favourite song is the Thomas the Tank Engine theme tune so there's no accounting for taste.

 

[audiofelch]

..i was listening to s_c's raw digits the other day, for me pretty much the zenith of that detailed electronic production style of the time.. next level stuff (if fussy to some ears)

but totally with mms on this. been a pretty obsessive lidell freak since 99'or so, but this year he totally lost me.

with his live work and super_collider I was fascinated by the way that preoccupation with surface and perfomance, the synthetic and pastiche could become so genuinely charged.. the live sampling, the violent man-machine clash played out both dramatically and in his technological method, the condensing of so much soul and dance musical history whilst retaining progressive intent .. it was a really exciting 21st century/post modern soul music. I couldnt wait to see what impossible pop gem he was going to boil this all down to.

but much of multiply and pretty much all of that last record/lapse into straight up retro pastiche was such a dissapointment, especially on the new record, that just seemed like some cynical exercise, too musically tepid and conservative, and lyrically self involved and banal to move me (except for green light )

more discussion here regarding his recent lp, inc. a lengthy musing from me, for those with the time & inclination:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/musicblog/2008/apr/17/stilldontgetjamielidell

here's hoping for some turnaround in his output.. but once you've toured with elton john.........

 

[mixed_biscuits]

I do like the Super_Collider stuff, though think it could have been elevated by better hooks - would have made the interplay between the vocals and the stuttering machines even more effective.

 

[gumdrops]

the album he made this year was pretty dull, like he was going shamelessly for the duffy/adele market. really sub-sub-pastiche stuff and lacking the lightness of multiply - he seemed to be taking himself a bit too seriously. id love to hear him bridge his electronic and soul sides together a bit more on record - hopefully hell do that considering the indifference to the recent album.