At long last- a new full length CD from the brilliant, but oft overlooked Carpet Bomb camp, this time from the Unagi Patrol, a duo consisiting of Adrien Cappozi and Doron Gura. For those who are familiar with the earlier work from the Carpet Bomb collective (most notably the Highways Over Gardens compilation) or their self-released Livestock album from 1994, are aware of their trademark styled jazz with IDM sensibilities- or is that IDM with jazz sensibilities? It’s probably neither, come to think of it… Regardless, the Carpet Bombers have a style which is virtually undefinable, yet definitively their own. Yes, it’s mellow music, but not in a manner which is at all bland. It’s what elevator music should be- something to keep you entertained on the ride to the top floor and still keep you calm in case you end up trapped in there for days on end.
This time around the Patrol takes a noticeably slower pace than other Carpet Bombers- very little of the drum ?n’ bass influence heard on earlier releases can be heard here. But what it lacks in complex programming is more than made up for in sheer musicality. These are artists who are not afraid to incorporate live instrumentation in an electronic track (and visa versa), and they do it well. So well, that for most of the album the line between the electronics and the instruments is blurred so much that it’s virtually impossible to determine what’s being played and what’s being programmed/sampled. Either these guys are compositional geniuses and highly efficient in their use of ‘real’ instruments, or up there with the likes DJ Premier and Amon Tobin as masters in the art of sampling. But I digress, as this is a music where the process and production techniques hold no relevance. The fact of the matter is that the end result is something wonderful. In fact, the only major flaw in this album is that it is just too short. The ten tracks total only up to 39 minutes. But I guess it’s just a classic example of quantity over quality. And if the material here isn’t enough to hold you over, be on the lookout for a forthcoming Microstudio 12″ on CB, as well as a solo CD by Adrien75 under the 757 moniker on Worm Interface. (Or, if you’re a cheapskate, check out Adrien75 MP3’s where we have been blessed with literally dozens of free tracks from Adrian.)
