Evolve

With more than 11 maxi on the counter, Uzul, founding member of the legendary Lyon band Kaly Live Dub, unveils Evolve, his first solo album. A colorful disc that abolishes the boundaries between musical aesthetics. Eleven surprising titles that break the codes and retrace the evolution of his music, his life and his influences. With Evolve, Uzul offers us a record resolutely bass music and techno in which are distilled its multiple influences, from dub to dubstep via UK bass, tech-house or trip hop.

The album opens with the introduction Octopus. With its heady sonar and its enchanting theme drowned under the bubbles of an underwater diver, this piece sets the tone of the album. Immersed and cut off from the current tumultuous world, we arrive in an aquatic musical universe whose melodic and abyssal depths we will explore.

Water is the red thread of this album. We find it in the artwork, in the names of the titles but also more conceptual. From water comes life and it accompanies us throughout our existence. And that’s what this is about since Uzul is taking us into his bubble. He gives us a global vision of all the musical aesthetics that have marked his career, as a producer but also from a more personal point of view. Uzul mixes with a master hand the musical styles that have built it and made it dance over the years. The use of filters and sound effects ends up immersing us in this aquatic universe, we are literally underwater, cut off from the world, in a transformed reality. Evolve proves to us that we can, in music, get out of the boxes and break the codes to achieve a beautiful harmony.

It is the song Aquatic which launches the album. The dub atmosphere brought by synares and skanks mix with techno colors, all supported by a grooved and glittered bass.

We continue with Nemo, a gentle walk in a mysterious world. Its lively groove echoes the UK bass and its electronica theme gives it a pop side.

It’s the song Water for Life that launches the most techno part of Evolve. An evolutionary and melodic title that takes at times a club tint to the English and that is not without reminders the culture sound system dub by the voices chanted, the skanks and the bassline. With his beat and electronic sounds,

Allo confirms the techno style of the album. A track resolutely acid but also very groove thanks to its rhythm. We end up on a line of bass typical of the dubstep style. A piece at the crossroads of several styles, like the album.

The techno exploration continues with Sea Horse. Its hypnotic TB303 synth set creates a cold atmosphere. The electronic wind tunnel and metallic sounds evolve over this progressive piece.

We reached the peak with Ultra Abyssal, a tribute to techno and deepdubstep. It’s groovy, it’s broken and it’s sure to ignite the dancefloors!

After the storm, let’s go for a nice electronic ride with Subtil, a deep dubstep style mixed with electronic trip-hop sounds. A piece that makes sense when listening to the lyrics. «I’m feeling good» is the message that Uzul wants to convey. In the face of life’s torments, we must keep our heads up, keep moving forward and keep hope at all costs. A melancholy and sensitive title, amplified by the dreamlike theme played by Bernard Pelmoine (first keyboardist of Kaly Live Dub ) invited for the occasion.

We continue with Diving, the most dub title of the album. A nod from Uzul to his passive fan of Jamaican music. The electronic atmosphere, in the spirit of Bill Laswell, brought by a big bass line and hypnotic percussion, beats this title that should satisfy fans of the genre.

Music is a game is a tribute to the rave movement in which Uzul participated. This techno title is tempered by the theme of melodica reggae, directed by Lion (musician of the Belgian band Dub Empire ).

Oceans comes to close the album gently. We end up with a soaring trip-hop dub reminiscent of the Rythm & Sound label’s productions.

Evolve proves to us that we can, in music, get out of the boxes and break the codes to arrive at a beautiful harmony.

Pubblicato da Music Alive