Seemingly unable to put a foot wrong no matter what he takes on, ex-Blur leader Damon Albarn has scooped up a mob of producers du jour (Actress, Kwes, Richard Russell, Dan the Automator, etc) and shipped them to the Democratic Republic of Congo’s capital to collaborate with contemporary domestic acts in a five-day musical speed-dating session they’ve called KINSHASA ONE TWO (Warp/Border). Inevitably, a couple of tracks are lost in translation, but on the whole DRC Music is a worthy and successful project that justifies its existence, transcends dilettantism and, it’s hoped, should bring in some reasonable coin for Oxfam.
A decade on from M83’s self-titled debut, Anthony Gonzales, who to all intents and purposes is the band, promised the latest and sixth album, HURRY UP, WE’RE DREAMING (Mute/Rhythm Method), would be “epic”. It’s hardly a brave call, as epic and glacial are the primary calling cards of Gonzales and associates, which seems to make for endless licensing opportunities and an easily ripped off formula for young bands. However, spread over an indulgent and threadbare double album, it definitely falls short. No matter how impressive and enveloping the production is, the feeling remains that these are just average, or worse, songs, overly dressed up. In short, epic fail.