Luke Slater
Freek Funk
NovaMute
I’ve had this CD for about two months, but because of a work-related injury (you don’t want to know, because it involves large areas of nasty burns), I wasn’t able to write the review for last month. So it gave me an extra month to listen and really explore the sonic textures and rhythms presented on it. Luke is getting some hot press these days from big wig magazines (you know, those glossies without a shred of information). For once, it’s definitely well deserved. For most of the album, you feel like sitting on a big swallow-you-whole sofa and melting into the vibrations. Some of the solid standouts are “Origin,” “Are You There?,” “Engine One,” “Bless Bless,” “Filter 2,” and “Time Dancer.” Actually, I should pay the piper. They all stand up and pack the album full of great material. “Freek Funk” rings like taking out all the blips, buzzes, and high-pitched arpeggiators from the Chemical Brothers and pushing all that extra power and energy into the groove and rhythm. It was a hard album to listen to when I was confined to bed. I just wanted to get up and “boogie.” You know the feeling. Music has the power to recall every last instinct from our “primitive” days of chants and dances. Personally, I think we are being tested on whether we are really socialized and domesticated. Hell, we are mammals, and thus animals like all the others. Mute Records, 140 W. 22nd Street, Ste. 10A, New York, NY 10011
