Laurent De Wilde ~ Organics
Some years have
passed since drum'n'bass wore the crown of fashionable popularity, despite
this it exerts a continung fascination on progressive jazz souls which may
be attributed in part to its cathartic viscerality and in part to jazz’s
on/off love affair with popular music. Alongside Courtney Pine, Nils Molvaer
and Erik Truffaz, Laurent De Wilde has explored this territory over three
albums after a period spent recording with the likes of Eddie Henderson and
Jack Dejohnette. Organics confirms that De Wilde’s interest is much
more than lip service: there's a real engagement with both the sonics of dance
music - the klaxon roar, the pummeling bass - and the question of how to engage
with the music’s form - the repetitive smallscale riff, the rhythmic
urgency and so on. The resulting music is immensely enjoyable in its physicality,
playfulness and sheer funkiness. Given its crossover potential, Organics could
lay claim to being the Headhunters of the first decade of the new millenium,
given half a chance.
Colin Buttimer
March 2005