Customer Reviews

In Beats We Trust

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is the latest in a string of discs that blur the boundaries between formerly distinct genres. Witness the Gotan Project's blend of tango and electronica, Bebel Gilberto's updating of bossa nova for the 21st century, or Madredeus' excellent disc of ambient-Fado, "Electronico." Here we have a tasteful "mojito" of salsa and electronic beats. If you are a purist, please pass--you'll be disappointed. Neither is it pounding house music. Instead, plaintive vocals and sultry violins mix with lively beats and touches of electronica. Not every track is a standout, but cuts such as "Deja," "Dame tu Querer" and "Donde Va Mi Corazón" are well worth the price of admission.

This is the real "papaya" - hot sizzling, slick, slamming, and yet clever and cool - crosscutting and genre-bending. It is a must have for any lover of musica latina, jazz/soul, as well reggae/dancehall and a lotta funky attitude. The disc should have a warning that this is not for the musically challenged or the pigeonholer of styles... and if you are sitting still for Mas Papaya, then Papi, e'tas muerto - better grab a defibrillator!! Buy it, you will like eet!

What the world needs now is a clever and sharp Brit producer who knows how to find the rare talent that can create a fusion of Carribbean music for the 21st Century. Fortunately, with Richard Blair and Co., we have it here, and no one mixes electronica with traditional Latin beats better than Sidestepper. This disc has more downtempo smokey tracks than their last effort "More Grip," and the albumn demonstrates a greater stretch in scope of the musical territory it covers. Similarly, for those who can grasp the Spanish here, the songs show greater depth. However, if you're looking for la candela de bailar that "More Grip" presented, you should look to the tracks Mas Papaya and Me Gustas. Here they set things on fire in a way that even Campo from "More Grip" could not. The way Mas Papaya fuses Cumbia with Dancehall should even make Celso Piña envious, and Me Gustas hits it "on the one" with a funky African flavored joint you will struggle to get out of your head (or feet as the case may be!). If the new songs they are now playing live are any indication, the Afro thang seems to be the prevailing wind for the direction they are headed for the new albumn. I can't wait to see what suprises they will deliver for us with that one!

Two tracks in particular make this album stand out: Aunque Me Duela la Vida & Dame Tu Querer. WOW, is all I can say. I'm a drum & bass Dj, and honestly, I can rarely think of two tracks I couldn't live without. But, here are two tunes I listen to during my "down" time. And I feel blessed knowing someone could produce something this groovy, yet melodic and hypnotizing. These two songs alone make this album a neccesity. And just a word to the wise, Sidestepper produced a super groovy latin drum and bass tune "Logozo" which may still be found here and there. Happy listening. - Nexus Six

These brits, god bless them. Somehow they manage to get colombian lyricists, jamaican style rhyming and techno beats all wrapped into a delicious package. If you like latin music, techno or just good music in general, you need this in your CD arsenal. Think of it as Buena Vista Social Club with a slamming techno undertone, that's it.

Very cool CD chalked full of ethnic rhythms, dub beats, latin, and dance tracks. And that's all I have to say:)!

Finally, something that challenges the overbearing sameness of sound pervasive in today's music world arrives with Sidestepper's "3am: in beats we trust". This is music to be enjoyed with a friend (or a group of friends)! Check your taxonomy skills at the door and simply listen to the inventive arrangements of audio textures that Sidestepper has mapped with both strong instrumental and vocal layouts.

Is your favorite flavor vanilla? Is your favorite writer Hallmark? Chances are, you enjoy many selections from the buffet of life that the world offers you. So why not break away from what "The Corporation" expects of you and taste the world? John Lennon, Bono, and Britney Spears won't be upset with you.

Some New Yorker critic cited this disc as one of his ten best of the year. I'm not sure I'd agree, but it does merit a try or two if you might be so inclined.
The album represents an effort to fuse electronica into more traditional carribean and salsa musics. Indeed, smooth downtempo electronic beats merge with carribean vocal work and horns in a most enjoyable way. My only critique is that I didn't find that the album has any sort of overarching cohesiveness. It seems to hop from one song to the next without going very far.
On the whole, I found it to be a fun melange of tunes and worth a listen.

Unfortunately, this CD does no justice to this dynamic, very talented group. I saw them live and purchased the newest album and was completely disappointed. The bass isn't mixed in correctly, so that it's either overpowering or dull. Most of the songs sound muffled (perhaps the effect of the bass?) and because of this, seem hesitant and uninspiring.

Perhaps this wasn't meant to be brilliance (tu me gustas, no me disgustas...come on.) but it's also not the funky great-to-dance-to production that these guys are capable of.

I danced with wild abandon across my teacher's classroom floor as the first notes of this crazy cd graced the air. Steve Martin called it "Happy Feet": I was SideSteppin', people! If you dig the thought of throwing down your every day blues, and just long to get your Latin groove on, this cd is for you. This cd makes me happy !!