Coppé
Peppermint
Papa My Buddha
Mango & Sweet Rice
Japanese electronica vocalist Coppé operates in a diverse and far-reaching field, and these two albums – her third and fourth overall – include everything from dubbier stuff and drum n’ bass on to electropop, trip hop, and cheesy electronica. Pretty varied, and then some.
Peppermint is the oldest release of the two, and the most uneven one. Seemingly unsure of what to do, or perhaps only too all-encompassing for comfort, Coppé reaches for the moon and ends up with an erratic hit-and-miss collection that belies her grand talent. Joined by the brilliant Plaid, as well as Vadim, Orb’s Kris Weston and Mark B., there may be too much original talent for any one album to take. Coppé is intense and furious, offering everything from Portishead-styled whispers to Yoko Ono’s wails, and while there are some fine moments – the Plaid remix and the Vadim produced ones being two very good ones – this album doesn’t quite hit the mark.
Papa My Buddha, co-credited to R. Breen, fares much better. This is a less star-studded release – although Weston is on this one as well, turning in a great solo spot – and Coppé’s star shines all the much brighter. More subdued than Peppermint, this is also a far more focused album. Dreamy, dance-y trip hop collides with weary electronica to produce a respectful tribute to her father who passed away during the recording of this album. His breathing through an oxygen machine forms the basic rhythm for the last track on here, the hypnotic “Bones And Ashes,” and elsewhere the album references his passing away and his memory living on to form a concept album of remarkable subtlety and poignancy.
Mango & Sweet Rice: http://www.sweetrice.com
