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I've always had a great appreciation for Deep Forest. Mostly because of their efforts to bring attention to various folk music and world music styles. Also for their attempts to preserve the vanishing culture these musical traditions represent. But I've also loved the music they've released. I enjoy the combination of these diverse native sounds and electronica.
As much as I like the group and considering how often I buy their releases, you'd think I'd know quite a bit about them, but I don't. I know the two main forces behind the project initially were Eric Mouquet and Michel Sanchez. At some point, Sanchez left the project and Mouquet continued on his own. Of course the music is different without Sanchez, but it still has the ring of familiarity you would expect from a Deep Forest record. I think the biggest difference is in the performances of guest musicians on the actual albums. When Mouquet and Sanchez were working together, each song would feature different musicians and singers. Mouquet seems to pick a singer and maybe a few musicians for each album. Where Deep Forest records seemed to focus on different ethnic musical styles, the Mouquet albums seem to focus on a broader, yet more specific international brand. For example, the first three solo releases have been "Deep Brasil", "Deep Africa" and "Deep India". You can kinda get the idea reading the titles of the albums.
Of these three solo records, this is the only one I actually own. And the only one I've actually heard in full. I've streamed parts of "Deep Brasil" on Youtube, but I have yet to hear the entire album.
"Deep Africa" starts off with 'Amber Opening'. It slowly opens with some hypnotic beats and some lovely singing. It transitions to a strange louder, but slow, beat. The way the track opens up is interesting, but I don't really like it. I think it would've been more effective if it stayed subtle and trance-like. 'Dub Africa' is the 2nd song on the record. You hear a female vocalist calling out in an African language and the electronic synth answers with an intense and dense response. Once the beat kicks in, you get a mid-tempo developing built around the call you hear in the very beginning. On par with anything you've previously heard from Deep Forest, this is an amazing track and I love it!
'Mosika' leads off with a strange staggering beat and then punctuates with some horns sounds. Once the vocals kick in, the tone of the song moves into a more emotional direction. The vocalist has a moving voice and he leads the track through some dynamic changes. It builds and ebbs quite naturally. This is another satisfying tune. The next song is 'Yelele' and this one is instantly catchy. It's got a deeper, quicker rhythm and once it kicks in, you have a hard time keeping your feet still. Even though I have no idea what the vocalists are singing or even if I'm pronouncing the words right, I find myself singing along at the top of my voice. I just make the words up of course, but it's a lot of fun. You have a change up between the male and female vocalists throughout the track. This is a song I could hear playing in a club. It's got an amazing beat.
'Bedi' is a slower number. The opening percussion sound reminds me of an old Casio keyboard. One of those Samba sounds. Acoustic piano fills out the sound on this track and the vocalist delivers a touching ballad even if you have no idea what she's saying. In a similar fashion, 'Atali Wowo' comes across as a ballad even though it uses live drumming and a faster tempo. The vocal sampling on this track is reminiscent of earlier Deep Forest work. 'Wasis' is track number 7. At first, you think you're hearing an ambient sound track. This singer reminds me of a voice I've heard on previous songs from earlier albums. It picks up a bit during the chorus, but it reverts back to the slower pace during the verses. It's an enjoyable track and another one I like on this record.
'Zoulawa' is a different number. It has a weird start, but eventually evolves into something more familiar to a Deep Forest fan. The singer here reminds me of Wes Mouataba. 'Ho Mambo' starts off sounding like water and evolves into sounding like stars twinkling. Then it changes into a chanted vocals over a sparse beat. The transitions on this number are unique and quite at odds with traditional dance and electronic music. 'Alaake' has an almost Latin flavor to it. The horns are playful and fun throughout. The vocalist is a woman who chants a nursery rhyme of sorts during the chorus. An interesting tune.
'Lomo' can be described as vocalizing over some mood synth playing. It's a very loose and free form piece of music. 'How Long It Takes?' hearkens back to the first days of Deep Forest. You have some lovely ambient electronic music playing over an fantastic vocalization. The forest sounds are filtering down through the music and when the rhythm develops, it does so organically. The build is extremely well written and executed on this one. I absolutely love this tune. Easily my favorite on the entire disc.
'Tiko' is a slower number with some flute/sax keyboard sounds. It's a nice relaxing bit of music. 'Mosika Ending' is the final track on the album. At least it's listed as such with three additional tracks listed as bonus tracks. As such, it's predominantly built around a vocalization with some aesthetic synth chords played underneath as atmosphere.
'Mawa' is the first of the bonus tracks. It uses a simple beat and piano playing as the background for the vocalist. There are some horn sounds in there as well. This is a dramatic piece in that it creates a very specific vibe and feeling. 'Soweto' is the second bonus cut and this one starts off with some insect-like sounds playing. You also hear what sounds like bird calls. The lilting piano motif is haunting. The vocalist emerges and delivers a gospel fueled plea for tolerance and acceptance. It's a beautiful song! The final bonus track is a mix of 'Dub Africa'. The 'Dub Africa (Gaudi Remix)' starts off rather quiet and trance-like but it builds into a heavier beat. It maintains the trance quality and the groove is nice all the way through.
I hear a huge difference in this music and the old Deep Forest. On this record, Mouquet focuses more on the performances of his guests than on the electronica. There's not as much vocal manipulation. On previous Deep Forest records, the vocals are sampled, manipulated and played almost like the keyboard motifs or drum patches. But here, the performances are more organic. More natural. The rhythms are built around the song structures created by the musicians and singers who contribute to the songs. It sounds more collaborative.
I like this new direction and I think as much as I love older Deep Forest music, I love the evolution. It embraces the music they sought to protect and nurture in a new way. A way that might help it transition to modern times and find a global audience. This is worth finding and buying. I'm definitely going to get the other Deep Forest releases now. If I can find them for sale. My final words: A NEW DIRECTION, A NEW STYLE, A SIMILAR SOUND, A SATISFYING AND PLEASING DISCOVERY.
DEEP FOREST - DEEP AFRICA
01. Amber Opening
02. Dub Africa
03. Mosika
04. Yelele
05. Bedi
06. Atali Wowo
07. Wasis
08. Zoulawa
09. Ho Mambo
10. Alaake
11. Lomo
12. How Long It Takes?
13. Tiko
14. Mosika Ending
15. Mawa
16. Soweto
17. Dub Africa (Gaudi Remix)
By now, I'm sure you're aware of why I like Deep Forest and respect their work. This is a little different than what you'd expect from them and that's because this is a live album. Normally, electronic artists who try to convert their sound to live instruments often end up losing the intensity of the music. In most cases, it just sounds blah... Depeche Mode is an example of a band that has some success transitioning their electronic songs to a live stage. But it doesn't always work. Juno Reactor is another band who does it and I normally think it doesn't work at all when they do it. However, I enjoy the songs anyway. Deep Forest have one advantage to all of those groups. They incorporate many live instruments into the electronic music during the initial recording. Along with the vocals. So you have a blend that has a good chance of transitioning to a live setting. It still sounds a bit off, but it's a magnificent attempt at recreating the sound you get on the albums.
My biggest complaint with this release is the fact the Japanese version includes two additional tracks not featured on the US version. And I don't understand that. It makes no sense why the Japanese versions end up with more material. They're expensive to buy in the states if you're wanting to own it. And I don't know why the record companies think one country should have access to the entire concert while others shouldn't. I think it's a ripoff and I'm disappointed I'm missing the two tracks. Eventually, I'll have to upgrade my copy to the Japanese version. If I ever find it for a reasonable price.
My second biggest complaint is why the band didn't do a world tour... I'd love to see them live. But as far as I know, they never came to the states.
There's some improvisation in the songs you don't ever get on the albums happening here. And that's fun to hear. Especially during the breakdown portion of 'Cafe Europa'. I love that track anyway, so it's exciting to hear.
They have 3 vocalists who do a very good approximation of the vocals you hear on the albums. I was very impressed with the way they came out. I believe this attention to detail demonstrates the respect and dedication the band have for the traditional folk music they seek to preserve and protect.
I won't bother breaking this one down track by track because I'll do my individual reviews of the songs on their respected albums. But I will comment on the overall presentation of them. The songs are all wonderful and they're showcased nicely in these live arrangements. The audience is appreciative and you get the sense the atmosphere was dynamic! There are a couple highpoints I'd like to point out. 'Forest Power' has an amazing instrumental jam, 'Sweet Lullaby' is absolutely amazing and 'Madazulu' is fantastic live. Of all the tracks, I think 'Madazulu' would be the one least suited to a live performance and yet they pull it off brilliantly.
I won't go on and on about the disc. You'll have to decide yourself to pick it up. I'll just sum it up in my final words and say: TOTALLY WORTH IT, BUT BUY THE JAPANESE VERSION...
DEEP FOREST - MADE IN JAPAN
01. Ekue Ekue
02. Green And Blue
03. Deep Weather
04. Bohemian Ballet
05. Deep Folk Song
06. Freedom Cry
07. Cafe Europa
08. Forest Power
09. Hunting
10. Forest Hymn
11. Sweet Lullaby
12. Madazulu
I saw this movie in the theaters and not only did I love the film, I was intrigued by the music in the soundtrack. Especially the Deep Forest tracks. As a fan of Deep Forest, finding a film soundtrack with unreleased tracks was really exciting. I tend to get extremely excited about groups when I first discover them and Deep Forest was no exception. Both of their cuts are interesting and sound similar to music they were producing at the time. The Peter Gabriel track is quite surprising and fascinating as they'd never recorded with an artist of his caliber before.
I was also excited about the Lords of Acid track even though it was released on their 'Voodoo U' CD. Skunk Anansie is a band I knew nothing about before seeing the film. They perform during the last scene of the movie and I was quite impressed by the look of the band and the intensity of the lead singer. I quite like both tracks. I later downloaded more songs from them to see if I'd be interested in picking up their disc, but I found their other material not nearly as rock intensive and somewhat lackluster.
The Jeriko One track sounds much better in the context of the movie than as a stand alone track. It's rather boring by itself. As for the Juliette Lewis tracks... One appears on the soundtrack and the other shows up on the single for 'While The Earth Sleeps'. Both songs were written by PJ Harvey who I've been interested in for some time. However, neither of these songs is particularly inspiring as performed by Lewis. I find them difficult to listen to.
Strange Fruit is another group appearing on the disc I'm interested in hearing more from. They also appear in the film. Another interesting performance. Prong contributes an interesting piece and the Tricky song is one of my favorites by him. Of the remaining tracks, only the Lori Carson song causes a reaction. I find the piece moving in a cinematic sense. Its position in the film is ideal and as a stand alone track, it's quite effective.
Overall, 'Strange Days' isn't the greatest soundtrack... But the exclusive content makes it essential for any number of collections. My final words: SPECIFICALLY ESSENTIAL.
STRANGE DAYS - MUSIC FROM THE MOTION PICTURE
01. Skunk Anansie - Selling Jesus
02. Lords Of Acid - The Real Thing
03. Tricky - Overcome
04. Deep Forest - Coral Lounge
05. Strange Fruit - No White Clouds
06. Juliette Lewis - Hardly Wait
07. Me Phi Me/Jeriko One - Herewecome
08. Skunk Anansie - Feed
09. Prong Featuring Ray Manzarek - Strange Days
10. Satchel - Walk In Freedom
11. Kate Gibson - Dance Me To The End Of Love
12. Lori Carson & Graeme Revell - Fell In The Light
13. Peter Gabriel And Deep Forest - While The Earth Sleeps
The Deep Forest single offers the album version of 'While The Earth Sleeps' and an extended version. It's worth it just for the extended listen to a great song. PJ Harvey fans may want the 2nd Juliette Lewis track. I'm not sure how rare the single is. Still if you have a chance to, pick it up. I'll review the album version of the song on the soundtrack so I won't go into detail here. As for the PJ Harvey numbers, I didn't really like them in the movie and I'm not particularly interested in them on a single.
As previously mentioned, the only reason for owning this release is having the extended version of 'While The Earth Sleeps'. My final word: EH...
DEEP FOREST WITH PETER GABRIEL - WHILE THE EARTH SLEEPS
01. While The Earth Sleeps (Album Version)
02. Juliette Lewis - Rid Of Me
03. While The Earth Sleeps (Long Version)
I saw this movie long before I realized my interest in the soundtrack. Let me state for the record... This film is absolutely brilliant. The soundtrack is another matter entirely. Although it has moments of absolute brilliance, it isn't a complete collection in that it leaves out a large number of songs appearing in the film. The tracks it does include seems to consist of the songs the producers thought would make the most money. Not always the smartest move when it comes to compiling a soundtrack.
The Ini Kamoze track opens the disc and it's ok. I remember it got some airplay and I saw the video on VH-1 a couple times. The Supercat track is awesome. It's a nice bluesy 50's number with a great beat. I quite like it. I really love the Salt-N-Pepa track, 'Here We Come'. It's funky, straight up and in your face. Salt-N-Pepa have always interested me and this track is a wonderful addition to the record. M People's contribution is cool, but somewhat standard fare for house records at the time. I'm sure it was mixed like crazy. Janet Jackson's number is lackluster but also fairly common for her during this time. This is right about the time I checked out on her. She became boring and everything sounded largely the same.
The Rolling Stones number is laughable and unwelcome. It's place in the movie is also annoying. It's the one song I absolutely feel has no business anywhere near this project. The Sam Phillips cover of 'These Boots Are Made For Walkin'' is wonderful. She captures the intensity of the original number with a folksy twist.
For years, I dished The Cranberries. I just hated them. Every song sounded like a broken record. Then I saw this film and heard this number. I think this song is incredible for a number of reasons... First and foremost, I love the message. "You're so pretty the way you are..." What an amazing statement in both the film and the music. Plus the mix is absolutely riveting. The Deep Forest song called 'Martha' is actually the track 'Marta's Song' from their album 'Boheme'. I like this track quite a bit as well. There is a slight difference in the bass track, but otherwise, it's the exact same number.
The Brand New Heavies tune is interesting but not remarkable. I enjoy the vocal delivery and although I've never invested much time or energy into this band, I'm interested in hearing more. The Cece Peniston song is pretty typical of her stuff, but it's fun and I really like the song. I can sing along and tap my feet. That's a great feature in a tune.
Now here's the reason I should've bought the disc. There's a Prince composition by The New Power Generation here. 'Get Wild' appears on the 'Exodus' record, but this version is quite different in a number of ways. There's different effects happening throughout the song. Specifically, Mayte in the background saying stuff in Spanish. There is a different vocal take as well. It really is worth having. It shows some of the progression in the way Prince writes and records music.
TTD clocks in with 'Supermodel Sandwich'. I have to be honest, as much as I normally enjoy his work, this is one of my least favorite numbers ever. The Perfecto Mix of 'Lemon' by U2 is pretty interesting though not incredible by any means. It's got a nice rhythm and flow. But the gasping cries of Bono detract from the overall effect of the song. It's all beat and no substance.
Overall, it's an interesting collection, but hardly one that goes well together. Like the fashions in the film, this disc is all over the place. You'll probably pick this up for one or two numbers you're interested in rather than the entire collection.
If that's the case, save the money and buy the tunes online individually. Check that... I just saw how much this disc was selling for on Amazon... If you want more than two songs, you might as well go ahead and buy the disc online. With prices like $.01... You can't get it cheaper. My final word: INTERESTING.
READY TO WEAR - MUSIC FROM THE MOTION PICTURE
01. Ini Kamoze - Here Comes The Hotstepper (Heartical Mix)
02. Supercat - My Girl Josephine
03. Salt-N-Pepa - Here We Come
04. M People - Natural Thing
05. Janet Jackson - 70's Love Groove
06. The Rolling Stones - Jump On Top Of Me
07. Sam Phillips - These Boots Are Made For Walkin'
08. The Cranberries - Pretty (Remix)
09. Deep Forest - Martha
10. The Brand New Heavies - Close To You
11. Cece Peniston - Keep Givin' Me Your Love (West End Mix)
12. The New Power Generation - Get Wild
13. Terence Trent D'Arby - Supermodel Sandwich
14. U2 - Lemon (Perfecto Mix)
I was on a break between classes back in my college days and I came home to find this interesting video playing on MTV. 'Sweet Lullaby'. It was fascinating. I thought the video was mysteriously beautiful while at the same being lush and vivid. It struck me as truly artistic. And the tune was lovely. I later learned the group used UNESCO recordings of tribal music from Zaire, Sahel, Tibesti, Burundi and other places in Africa to create this interesting world blend of Pygmy folk music and electronic dance beats. I also learned they donated a substantial portion of the album's profits to a fund to help Pygmy tribes of central Africa cope with environmental threats and are committed to preserving the cultural music of these native groups.
That sealed the deal for me. I was completely captivated. A worthy cause and interesting music... It was a done deal. I've continued to follow this interesting band and I think this album is one of the most exciting and interesting pieces of world music ever made.
From the opening track, the band sets a precedence for interesting melodies, catchy hooks and infectious beats. 'Sweet Lullaby' magically segues from the first number and the album seems to open like an expanse of jungles looming green and fragrant before you. 'Hunting' follows and is an exciting, upbeat number. 'Night Bird' is the next track and has a haunting quality making you imagine the sounds of dusk and the sweet twittering of small birds.
'The First Twilight' is an ambient bridge of sorts. It's the first purely instrumental piece and transitions into 'Savana Dance'. This track is motivated! It gets you excited and on the edge of your seat while at the same time maintaining the mystery of tribal sound. The next tracks are just as interesting and complex. 'The Second Twilight' is another instrumental ambient number that effectively set up 'Sweet Lullaby (Ambient Mix)'. Sadly, this mix is far more interesting and effective than any of the mixes appearing on the single. Also sadly, it's extremely short. But the flawless way in which these songs flow together is dynamically fluid. By far, this could easily be the most superior track on the disc. 'Forest Hymn' is almost an anthem of sorts. It has a grandiose full sound and the pygmy choir makes it seem like the perfect climax to a superior CD. An excellent build and the best possible track to close out this masterpiece.
If you don't have this album, you should pick it up. I imagine it was famously popular all over the world. And why wouldn't it be? Give it a listen and see if you aren't singing at the top of your lungs trying to mimic the sound of words you don't understand because it's just too damn infectious. This is a beautiful, purposeful recording. I love it. My final word: INSPIRED.
DEEP FOREST - DEEP FOREST
01. Deep Forest
02. Sweet Lullaby
03. Hunting
04. Night Bird
05. The First Twilight
06. Savana Dance
07. Desert Walk
08. White Whisper
09. The Second Twilight
10. Sweet Lullaby (Ambient Mix)
11. Forest Hymn
This was the first song I heard from Deep Forest and I loved it from the moment I heard it. Singles are tricky things. Sometimes you get something that enhances the song and the experience of the music and sometimes you get a money pit. I'm not exactly sure where I am on this one. The first track is essentially the album version while the second is more of an extended mix than anything. The third track is a typical club beat from the time period. It has a house beat with some tricked out synth playing over the top. It's nothing exciting or interesting though. The 'Round The World Mix' is something differently entirely. While staying true to the basic formula of the song, the beat is written in a deep house style and is fairly straightforward. I say it's straightforward, but it's also not unpleasant to listen to. Of the mixes, this is the best. The final track is just some odd trance synth sounds played over a deep drum beat with snatches of the song intermixed. It's interesting in itself, though hardly an attention stealer.
Overall, none of these mixes really do justice to the original song which is easily one of the most enjoyable pieces of music written. It's a lovely number. Check it out if you want, but the mixes are probably better downloaded than purchased on this format. My final word: NICE.
DEEP FOREST - SWEET LULLABY
01. Sweet Lullaby (Original Mix)
02. Sweet Lullaby (Remix)
03. Sweet Lullaby (Q-Bass Mix)
04. Sweet Lullaby (Round The World Mix)
05. Sweet Lullaby (Bonus A La Efx)
