Once upon a time, Jamie Lidell was a laptop-twiddling techno producer and one half of beat-blasting duo Supercollider. But he wanted to SING! So he did. Multiply is, at first listen, a blast from the past, an attempt to bring 70s disco and soulful Motown back to life. And Lidell's got the voice to do it too. He belts his tunes with as much soul as Otis, Marvin or Prince ever put out. The production might sound equally retro at first, which would make this album nothing more than a quality throwback, but it doesn't take too long to realize there's something distinctly modern going on here. Clearly, Lidell couldn't just totally ditch what he knew, and he throws in all kinds of glitchy beats and digital flourishes that'll suddenly remind you what decade you're in. He also does a whole bunch of crazy fooling with his vocals, beaboxing here and there or cutting up little bits of singing up and looping or layering them, making for an even more unusual background to his soulful singing.
Jamie Lidell - Multiply (2005)
Buy the album here.
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