Gotan Project - 'Inspiración-Espiración' (XL)
4/5
By: Kevin Molloy
Caution, xenophobes: this compilation is very, very French. Walk down the newly liberated Champs Elysée, show-tunes gracefully sliding in the film's soundtrack, add a few choice blasts of accordion, then manage to sound enthused about everyday life with that Gallic flair. That, or really rather bored with events phenomenally life-changing. That's how French this is. The continental theme is only increased by the majority of the lyrics coming from the Spanish quarter.
Then again, there are lyrics for the Anglophone, and despite a burgeoning French rap-scene they occur in the tunes that lean more towards seemingly unlikely Latin bedfellow: hip-hop. 'M.A.T.H.' is hip-hop by numbers ('my mother always wanted me to be a mathematician, so now I tally up the number of the bitches I'm dissin''). 'El Capitalismo' strikes a similar vein, but this time heavy on the message, somehow managing to make the lyric, 'Our freedom, we need it, don't take it for granted' sound entirely non-cheesy.
But back to the French; the whole range of French influences are present. 'Tríptico' pulls heavily on Air's blissful ambience, whilst 'Cité Tango' draws much more upon the more traditional, 'beret-and-onion-porting homme sűr un bicyclette' genre of squeezebox and fiddle folk. What draws the whole together is your own ensuing enraptured response. Whilst Yann Tiersen's soundtrack to 'Amelie' made the genre fashionable once more with its beaming optimism and virtuoso melodies, it only dreamed of the artistic dimensions achieved here. The LP swings from the pensive, jazzy grooves through to slamming bass-lines in a seamless, effortless whole.
And that word... Incessantly, insidiously, the groove runs throughout this compilation. You don't notice that the mood has become danceable until you feel your feet unconsciously tapping beneath you. The bass line creeps upon your soul, then spins it around and dances it to the tango. And the groove is intangibly European. There's a suave sophistication to every tune on Inspiración-Espiración, even the Old Skool 'M.A.T.H' has an incredible staccato string arrangement and sampling reminiscent of an overly inspired Avalanches.
The stage for world music in the UK is broadening; we no longer require 'I was once in a famous group, left, discovered world music and was adored by middle-of-the-road media' Phil Collins or Sting to provide our sounds. 1 Giant Leap provide the same with more interesting celebrity, and the Gotan Project are here to whirl us, enchanted, through the showtunes, soulful grooves and rhythmical ecstasies of the continent. So once more, if you can't cope with lyrics in a foreign tongue, stay at home. But oh, you Francophiles and ye open-minded, your 3am music is sorted; as the intellectual conversation wavers, this album truly will be your hope of inspiration, and your content and satisfied lullaby.
Artists in this article: Gotan Project
Your Feedback
Login to post your comment