Customer Reviews

Indian Summer

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

 

 

This wasn't the King Kooba I've loved especially since my introduction to him from the Om label. I wasn't very impressed with this particular album at all. For the hip-hop lovers, drum-n-bass fiends of old, this won't be your type of hype. I'd say this album was too "house"/disco-nouveau diva if anything. I miss the old Kooba. I have to say "Man Like Andre", "Blue Mosque" and "Salutation" were the only stand-outs for me; the other songs just got too long and boring...Well, I guess they're alright; just gotta pay attention. Just keep and make it plain ol' instrumentally jazzed-hip-hop funky for me! I hope he (Charlie Tate) will produce an album under his other pseudonym "Colossus". A taste of what that is like can be heard on Om Lounge, Vol. 7.

So, three stars for three songs--

Charlie Tate and Matt Harris of King Kooba have done a masterful job of producing some exceptionally beautiful, original, soulful and jazzy selections sure to appeal to all. There's truly something for everyone on "Indian Summer"...The carefree opener "Honey Locust", the cool-urbane "A Man Like Andre" and the sassy "You Don't Know" offer futuristic basslines, haunting vocals and stellar scratching and mixing for the consummate jazz/lounge-lizzard. Neo-soul connoiseurs will find tracks like "Losing You", "Barefoot", and "If I Could" a real delight, while your more discerning music listeners will dig other cuts like "Indian Summer", "Blue Mosque" and "Dreaming of You". This one comes highly recommended!

If this were the first album by King Kooba, the other reviews here would be different. This is a marvellously rich album that explores downtempo music in all its complexity without getting too edgy or dark. I didn't like the first King Kooba album NuFound Funk except for Koobesq and California Suite. If you like Air, Stereolab, or some of the softer downtempo artists like Zero 7, you'll probably like this as well.

After their previous so-so third album NUFOUNDFUNK, King Kooba refinds its footing with INDIAN SUMMER, which manages to blend the hip-hop sensibility of their third album with the melodic and jazz elements that made their first two albums stand out. "Honey Locust," for example, is a beautiful rattling lounge piece, while "Losing You" and "If I Could" are R&B tracks that stand above anything on NUFOUNDFUNK. "Indian Summer" is a long deep house track and pulsates with the best of them, and "Blue Mosque" has sporadic Arabic instruments playing over a broken beat. "Salutation" has a rattling rhythm underscoring the long string pulls and horns that contrast with the jazzy interlude in the center of the track. "Public Service" continues the jazzy feel with some simple guitar chords and a vocal sample of two folks talking about jazz. And, finally, "Want Your Love" and "You Don't Know" combine the two competing strands of the album (the jazzy breaks and the R&B) into a cohesive whole. It's a welcome return to form for King Kooba.

I had been listening to and enjoying "Beat Blender", one of SomaFM's 19 listener-supported; commercial-free; underground/alternative radio channels from San Francisco, without being aware that the genre of this channel is downtempo. After hearing King Kooba's "Salutation", I immediately researched the song title, found the artist and this album, and bought the CD.

I really dig "Indian Summer". Here's why:

*The very cool combo of ambient/jazz/synth sounds on the tracks, "Honey Locust", "Salutation", and "A Man Like Andre". "Salutation" has an awesome energy to it and is the track that brought me to investigate the rest of the album.

*Although "Indian Summer" has lyrics, they are repetitive enough so that they do not become the focus of the experience. Rather, the lyrics blend right into the sounds, and if you listen to the entire track it becomes hypnotic.

*"Blue Mosque" is wonderful for it's fabulous strangeness, lyrical chants, and varying percussion throughout.

*I love "Public Service" for it's classical jazz sound and how it turns into a waltz in the middle of it.

*There are 2 tracks that I always skip over which are, "Losing You", and "Barefoot". For me, these 2 tracks are just not what I'm after. This does not detract from the overall value of the album, however.

"Indian Summer" is my very first purchase of this genre. If anyone has any suggestions for other artists/albums that are similar in sound to the tracks I like that I've mentioned above, please comment here. Thanks.

Overall, "Indian Summer" was worth every penny.

Absolutely amazing. What else can you say? King Kooba is another all-star on the OM records line up. This cd is filled with some of the best and laid back beats ever. Absolute must have. Especially for OM Records followers.