Even for the “saviours of house music”, naming your debut album as Greatest Hits seems a bit arrogant? Can these 14 tracks live up to the billing?
dOP made a big name for themselves earlier this year with their remix of ‘Fine Mouche’ by Brigitte Fontaine & Khan (much loved by BBC Radio 1′s Gilles Peterson) and they popped up during the year on Watergate 04 (compiled and mixed Sebo K) album but clearly they’ve been saving themselves for the album release.
dOP are a from Paris and they started out on the Circus Company label in 2007. Since then, they have developed a unique musical approach to dance music with a live act match. If you can imagine a musical world somewhere between Moodymann, Cobblestone Jazz, Matthew Herbert, Donso and label mates Nicolas Jaar and Guillaume & The Coutu Dumonts, that’s pretty close to the mindset of Clement Zemtsov (beat programming), Damien Vandesande (keyboards and horns) and Jonathan Illel (lyrics and vocals).
No doubt the lyrics in French are as obtuse as the songs sung/spoken in English but the fact that there’s a vocal element gives them a wider appeal than other jazzy-housey combos and with an added penchant for the cinematic and world beats (see cover – like an update of The Slits’ Cut cover – RIP Ari Up) this should get this album in loads of ‘Best Of’ 2010 lists.
‘Happy Meal’ and ‘Worm Hunting’ have some of the most psych-garde lyrics (possibly inspired by The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover?) whilst ‘Talk Show’ adds a bit of Herbert on the ‘Big Band’ jolly (Mr. Herbert himself so happens to have remixed ’3 Suitecases’ for the lastest 12″ off the album).
‘New York’ and ‘No More Daddy’ both come in at over 7 minutes long which is OK for the dancers but if your after Elmer Berstein goes house, try ’1 Gram’ (this is why they can be labelled the saviours of house music – clearly very talented).
For some Afro-house Goodbye Mr. Lawrence jazz there’s ‘Assurance Vie’ (definitely a favourite) and deep in the jungle dub-tech-house, there’s a big ‘Love Ride’.
For the cine-Francophiles, ‘L’H?¥pital, La Rue, La Prison’ is some film opening sequence and ‘U R’ is very much on the dark side (?Como Devrite Adios) even with calypso steel pans!
I must admit, I did think this would be mostly a dance album but on repeated listens, it’s very cerebral as well (not exactly Aufgang, but in the same ball park) and with a load of shows coming up, expect to party big time (especially if you’re in Berlin this New Years’ eve) as dOP perform their Greatest Hits to date!
Forthcoming shows
Nov 27 @ Spartacus, Aix en Provence, FRANCE
Dec 5 @ Aurus, Mumbai, INDIA
Dec 10 @ Rave on Snow, Saalbach-Hinterglemm, AUSTRIA
Dec 11 @ Robert Johnson, Offenbach, GERMANY
Dec 16 @ Machine, Tel Aviv-Jaffa, ISRAEL
Dec 17 @ Caf?© d`Anvers, Antwerp, BELGIUM
Dec 18 @ Tenax, Firence, ITALY
Dec 23 @ Mondo Club, Madrid, SPAIN
Dec 24 @ Kuppel, Basel, SWITZERLAND
Dec 25 @ Rex Club, Paris, FRANCE
Dec 29 @ Sweat, Leipzig, GERMANY
Dec 31 @ Cookies, Berlin, GERMANY
Jan 1 @ Studio 80, Amsterdam, NETHERLANDS
Jan 1 @ Hybrid Life with Alex Jones + More Guests TBA. London, UK www.residentadvisor.net
Reviewed: dOP – Greatest Hits (Circus Company) Cat. No:CCCD08 Release date: 18th October 2010
Tracklisting:
1 Worm Hunting (3:27)
2 No More Daddy (7:31)
3 1 Gram (5:04)
4 Talk Show (3:46)
5 Assurance Vie (5:47)
6 Happy Meal (4:10)
7 L’H?¥pital, La Rue, La Prison (4:58)
8 U R (4:35)
9 Lacy Lad (3:16)
10 Love Ride (9:07)
11 New York (7:15)
12 Final Dive (4:38)
13 3 Suitcases (5:36)
14 Deaf Wagrant (3:41)
Links:
dopyourself.free.fr
www.myspace.com/dopdopdop
circuscompany.fr
www.myspace.com/circuscompany
dOP : Their first soundtrack for cinema: Damien Vandesande and Cl?©ment Zemtsov just produced their first soundtrack for cinema. The movie is in fact a fiction documentary directed by Benjamin Marquet called Lads & Jockeys.It shows the world young lads who all work really hard to achieve their dream to be one a jockey. www.ladsetjockeys-lefilm.fr
hybridlife.tv
