Arling and Cameron
All-In
Emperor Norton
“Look ma, no hands!” Every couple of months, I’ll get a disc that I listen to so much that I learn not only every note for every song, and the order these songs are placed in, but the exact length of the pause between songs. All-In is such an album. Gerry Arling and Richard Cameron, producers extraordinaire appear to be based out of Holland, but their sound is completely global, guaranteed to send dancers into a frenzy in America, Holland, Japan or darkest Africa.
The Arling and Cameron sound is best described as high-energy – not to be confused with the dance sub-genre of the same name. The voltage sizzles as the duo assembles the music that keeps the Teletubbies dancing til 3 am after they’re done with their day jobs (that’s them you hear cheering periodically on “We Love Dancing”). Japanese girls chatter, analog synths ululate and vocal samples are disassembled, reconstructed and released at just the right time. Concerned parents in Kansas are worried about the effects of this potent blend on their children, while interested parties with Richard Simmons, Susan Powter and Oprah Winfrey are locked in a legal battle for the exercise video rights. I just made up that last sentence, but it’s not inconceivable.
Which is not to say that Arling and Cameron are all about dance-culture fluff. When they take a breather, they clearly show their ability to disregard musical conventions and integrate sounds that others might consider too disparate. Take “Gershwin,” where we’re treated to a haunting duet between Fay Lovsky’s low and sexy humming and an expertly played theremin. For seven minutes, the two harmonize amidst flashbacks of dub and proto-jungle. “Voulez-vous?” asks an ambiguous French question, set to a seductive chicka-funk music bed, making it not so ambiguous after all. “Speeding Down the Highway” could be the soundtrack to a car commercial, the kind of fast listening that begs you to put the top down.
All-In is about the best “dance” music I’ve heard in a long time. Techno purists have been known to shudder at Arling and Cameron’s toungue-in-cheek stylings, which trade traditional four-on-the-floor “hand-raisers” with an intellectual stew of production wizardry and peppy melodies. Laden with smile juice and foot stimulants, this is the album to play at your next party. Make sure someone doesn’t walk off with it, though.
Emperor Norton Records, 102 Robinson St., Los Angeles, CA 90026; http://www.emperornorton.com
