#2. Sporto Kantes - 3 At Last
Sporto Kantes was born out of the electronic wave which hit Europe hard and dirty in the mid 1990's. I imagine lots of vespas, cigarettes, sex and large dusty mirrors during that time. Begun as a drum and bass duo, Sporto Kantes started to play softer electronic music and eventually fell into the downtempo genre. Slowly, they evolved into a strange electronic fusion of Brazilian, jazz and hip hop. Between their incomplete Wikipedia page and lack of translated interviews, Sporto Kantes still remain a mystery to the larger public despite their heavy circulated "Whistle" video. 3 At Last, their third, is a slideshow of European obscurities and obscure world music segmented by hip hop and bossa-novan vocals. Since little is known about the duo, I cannot estimate how much of 3 At Last is sampled versus sung. I once saw a lo-fi video of the members singing in laundromat. It sounded a little like the vocals on this record. I can guess 3 At Last is in the vein of Girl Talk, if every sample was from records you never knew existed. Regardless, 3 At Last successfully synthesizes the purest parts of the "world" genre without making it "exotic." This cosmopolitan quality makes the record so refreshing, I started to view my Putumayo series in a more negative light. This record makes me feel I live in Paris, circa 1994 whilst riding my vespa down the Rue Malebranche at night with an unfiltered cigarette tightly pressed in my lips. Its time to go clubbing.
No comments:
Post a Comment