Nicola Conte
Jet Sounds Revisited
ESL
Nicola Conte’s Jet Sounds Revisited is a series of tunes that touch on a sound something like Sterolab or Tortoise at times, but more often sound like more traditional jazz and bossa nova remixed by Conte. Conte is called the brains behind the Fez collective, which is credited by ESL Music’s Web site as “…the first to bring bossa nova back into the public eye in Italy and the first to combine jazz elements with club culture.” Now, I’m more or less a complete stranger to club culture, so I don’t know whether I’m pleased or frightened about this. What I do know is that, regardless of its origins, Jet Sounds Revisited is, except a track or two, entirely pleasurable to listen to.
As with anything in the genre of remixing, I’m never sure if what I’m enjoying is a result of the original recorded music or the DJ/Producer’s efforts. Often I’d suspect it’s a bit of both, but equally as often I’ve found that the only really enjoyable aspect of a remix (for me, of course, but then who else’s opinion were we expecting?) is that which is left of the original song being remixed. However, in the case of Nicola Conte, it seems that at least a majority of the songs being remixed were arranged by Conte, and then performed by musicians of his choice. The information I’ve been able to find through http://www.allmusic.com and http://www.eslmusic.com/artists/nicola.html is somewhat sparse, and the fact that I’m a rank amateur when it comes to knowledge of the electronica and DJ scene doesn’t help in the slightest. So, for the purposes of this review, we’ll assume that my short jaunt of fact-finding is at least mostly accurate, and the sounds on the disc are not only processed by Conte but produced and/or directed in their original from by him as well, and therefore can be listened to by those of us who have not yet come to terms artistically with sampling and remixing to enjoy without upset stomach.
Eighteenth Street Lounge Music: http://www.eslmusic.com/
