sat 07/12/2024

CD: King Midas Sound - Without You | reviews, news & interviews

CD: King Midas Sound - Without You

CD: King Midas Sound - Without You

A cast of hundreds surprisingly coheres in apocalyptic dub project

King Midas Sound: human fragility placed against monumental and overpowering sound

The “remix album” has a patchy history. From bodged-together cash-in collections of already-released B-sides via showcases of hipness (hello Radiohead!) to focused collaborations (Mad Professor's reworkings of Massive Attack being the best known), the range of approaches is diverse to say the least. If anyone can get it right, though, it's King Midas Sound's Kevin Martin.

An inveterate compiler, collaborator and shape-shifter with many years' worth of extraordinary sound experiments behind him from industrial metal to lovers' rock, he is unquestionably adept at forcing unlikely aesthetic combinations to submit to his will.

And so it proves on this collection of 15 new versions of the heavy 21st-century dub songs from the Waiting for You album, all commissioned specifically for this project. Tracks are not only remixed by other producers, but in some cases – in reggae tradition - “revoiced” with completely new vocal lines by other artists. The contributors range from the very lo-fi (Los Angeles singer/producer Nite Jewel, London obscurantists Hype Williams) to immaculately produced techno (Deep Chord), sweetly quirky psychedelia (arty Brooklyn neo-hippies Gang Gang Dance) and terrifyingly distorted dub (the imposing hip-hop dread Ras G).

Yet all of these feel like KMS tracks. The aesthetic of the band is based on human fragility placed against monumental and overpowering sound, and all the new versions continue that. The cracked, unorthodox voices of KMS's own Kiki Hitomi (here singing in Japanese as well as English) and Roger Robinson are added to by the sweet, androgynous soul of Green Gartside, Cooly G and dBridge, and the stentorian tones of Kode 9's poetic partner The Spaceape. What could easily be a rickety, rackety Tower of Babel proves to be a construction with foundations of bass, where the voices work together like an oddly functional choir.

The contributors range from the very lo-fi to immaculately produced techno, sweetly quirky psychedelia and terrifyingly distorted dub

rating

Editor Rating: 
4
Average: 4 (1 vote)

Share this article

Add comment

The future of Arts Journalism

 

You can stop theartsdesk.com closing!

We urgently need financing to survive. Our fundraising drive has thus far raised £33,000 but we need to reach £100,000 or we will be forced to close. Please contribute here: https://gofund.me/c3f6033d

And if you can forward this information to anyone who might assist, we’d be grateful.

Subscribe to theartsdesk.com

Thank you for continuing to read our work on theartsdesk.com. For unlimited access to every article in its entirety, including our archive of more than 15,000 pieces, we're asking for £5 per month or £40 per year. We feel it's a very good deal, and hope you do too.

To take a subscription now simply click here.

And if you're looking for that extra gift for a friend or family member, why not treat them to a theartsdesk.com gift subscription?

newsletter

Get a weekly digest of our critical highlights in your inbox each Thursday!

Simply enter your email address in the box below

View previous newsletters