Oh!…hang on…yep…there goes the kitchen sink.
I’m only on track 4, ‘Ty Versus Detchibe’ of PREFUSE 73’ (aka Guillermo Scott Herren) 21 track long player ‘Surrounded by Silence’ but the hyperactive avant-garde movements, jazz injections and lounge-core infusions splash-painted across the post-modern hip hop canvas show no signs of abating.
Already two albums and one EP into his career Herren’s musical adventures attempt to build the bridge between DJ Shadows groundbreaking ‘Endtroducing’ and the combined output of genius-in-residence Four Tet, taking in all the sights and sounds that such a broad spectrum implies. He could only have a home on Warp Records.
His lengthy sonic manifesto and endless experimental remit is further bolstered with the extensive roster of guests (12 in all) – including Wu Tang Clan members Ghostface, Masta Killa and GZA on separate tracks – who help populate Herren’s idiosyncratic and idiolectic world.
In truth the results of his genre-bashing don’t always work with some tracks having so many multiple and split personalities their true identity remains unknown and, just occasionally, unwanted. It’s as if Herren becomes bored every other musical bar or suffers from the attention span of a mayfly.
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When he concentrates and focuses his efforts on shoring up a handful of good ideas in one song as on the playful skip of ‘Pangina Dos’, the downbeat and fragile ‘We Go Our Own Way’ or the harmonious ‘It’s Crowded’ the detail in the music is given the space to be appreciated and its inherent ingenuity and beauty the clarity to resonate.
‘Surrounded By Silence’ is a flawed effort that strays too far and too often from its ambitious path but is nonetheless shot through with genuine moments of genius and revelation that are equal to the influences to which PREFUSE 73 aspires.
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