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With Voices is the modest title assigned to the
latest production venture for Carlos Nino and
Fabian Ammon. It represents their first full
length vocal record, the LA duo previously choosing to
concentrate mostly on instrumental efforts, as in the
excellent One In An Infinity Of Ways album from 2004,
or the equally fine sequel New Birth. On this new opus
they've sought help from several of their fellow city
dwellers, and found a wide cross section of talent to
go with their hip hop beats.
Hip hop is the base root of the equation, but is
also used as a starting point to include jazz, dub and
funk. From the first track it's immediately apparent a
free approach is the order of the day, as Dwight
Trible's instantly recognisable tones weave their
way around a semi-mantra. The following One For Ayler
goes the other way, a simple hip hop beat backing a
basic chord structure of rare beauty, voices whispered
this time.
Of the more aggressively hip hop tracks, With
Voices is the only one that Ammoncontact use to give a
shout out - that is, through the voice of Lil
Sci in a tense, energetic number. Like This
features the same vocalist and packs a heavy riff,
rather like a Blade track might do. But the duo
refuse to rely too heavily on these tricks, any idea
of a commercial pitch quickly extinguished by a range,
semi-electro episode, the effect one of having your
head dipped beneath the water.
Meanwhile Zillion Tambourines has a thought
provoking, protest style rumination over a lazy bass
line. The influence of DJ Shadow unconsciously
exerts itself for the spacious, cinematic textures of
Elevation, while the duo's penchant for a good riff
comes up once again in Drum Riders, a more basic 'rap
'n' drum' approach.
From all this it's clear Ammoncontact are a vibrant
source of creativity, keen to expand their hip hop
sensibilities in search of other forms of expression.
They succeed in an engaging album that gets better and
more interesting with every listen, communicating with
an impressive directness. Their prolific writing looks
set to lead them down many more garden paths in the
near future - and it will be interesting to hear the results.
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