chicane. stay this time.
Chicane was first introduced to me by the Hackers soundtrack (the 2nd one actually), as the Disco Citizens edit of Offshore. Discovering further that Disco Citizens is also a Chicane alias was a rather interesting find as well. I have always loved the old skool tradition of musicians using alternate monickers to re-release music under different themes and styles.
But he has always been on the outskirts of dance music for me, I’ve never owned a devoted record of his, I’ve never been hell bent on one of his singles outside of the many mixes I have in my collection. I always thought he was wonderfully talented, but with occasional offshoots that didn’t vibe well with me.
As far as releases go, Chicane had always been hit and miss, his sampling of Sigur Ros, though I certainly appreciated the sentiment, didn’t work for me (the original release anyway). And as I’ve listened to more of the progressive and sometimes darker/deeper forms of EDM, I never could say Chicane was a profound artist in my musical world. Though friends and DJ’s I knew would insist upon the sheer magnitude of this artist, I never heard it in the music.
That changed with a friend of mine letting me know about the newest Chicane release, Giants. This wonderful release, albeit a somewhat darker one, laden with samples, it could almost be called a cover record. Gary Numan’s “Cars” is sampled, The Sigur Ros song Hoppípolla is given a backbeat and retooling. Owl City shows up in the opening track and other songs have a certain sense of you having heard them before. Spun out into wonderfully new directions, the songs sound familiar yet creative, new and remarkably addictive. Even the rework of Hoppípolla has a charm and soul that missing in the original Chicane release back in 2008. I don’t know what changed about Chicane or, possibly, me, but this music seems intensely needed, required in the current state music. Chicane reminds us that happiness is not hokey and simple melodies without four hundred hours of editing are still good. The undeniable ease with which one can listen to this record is truly amazing. In point of fact, “Come Back” the stand out song on the record first played on my iphone whilst on shuffle, I didn’t realize who the artist was until I checked the song details, but I repeated it twice upon first hearing it. This seems an album with Chicane not as producer, but more fan in his use of multiple samples and hooks from other tracks. It is beautiful, seminal and incredibly well done.
I hope you enjoy.
_backchat.
P.S. Though I do like making multiple recommendations within my reviews, the past few posts have revolved primarily around single artists. These voices are important to me, possibly important to you and I hoped deserving of a devoted article.
