Dario Boente & Huge In Japan
Huge In Japan
Self-Released
Having no familiarity with Dario Boente, I can only assume that he is massively popular in Japan; either that or he named his album after his collaborators, with whom he shares credit. Who is Boente? Judging from this disc Boente is a techno wizard but also a superb musical craftsman, whose arranging skills and gift at playing keyboards and piano strike most impressive notes on this globally-inspired album.
As if self-consciously avoiding electronica conventions, Boente washes his techno rhythms with layers of world beat. You can hear sounds from Japan, Africa and Brazil on “Cara A Cara,” the visionary opening cut which redefines Euro-disco. What was once a primarily white genre is embedded with multicultural flavors; the result is a flashy, hypnotic masterstroke. “Cara A Cara” is the soundtrack of the 21st century, a mishmash of ethnically diverse instrumentation. It may sound weird to some now, but it will be the Top-40 of tomorrow.
Delving further into eclectic and experimental song structure, “This Is the Sound of My People” is futurist dance a la Faithless while “The Way I Play” toys with spoken-word bits. Quite accessible to the public ear are “Sundays,” with its old-school disco sway, and the thumping “Bahia,” which shakes the buttocks with its spirited Latin percussion.
There’s much synthetic programming here but Boente is backed by real, top-drawer musicians on every cut.
Dario Boente: http://www.darioboente.com
