The self-appointed ‘musical architect’ of rap group IAM’s last three albums, Imhotep, steps into the spotlight with his first solo release.
The album is a musical travelogue, a soundtrack without a movie. The streets of the artist’s ancestral Morocco are used as the background for his reggae, dub, and trip-hop beats. Sitars drone over a hypnotic bass line in the seductive "Caravan’s Walk 1". A xylophone and a hip-hop beat are combined on "Balaphone’s Beat" – and are surprisingly complimentary.
Tribute is paid to the spooky trip-rock of groups like Portishead on the song "Deep Roots Tree", although Imhotep is more mystical and less dour than his English counterparts. Plus, many of the tracks are slow but they’re still quite danceable. To balance out the sometimes chilly, futuristic beats and keyboards, dialogue and street sounds are occasionally scattered between songs, and there is even some live Moroccan drumming and chanting ("Bendir Beat").
"Blue Print" manages to transcend the trappings of the trip-hop genre by incorporating other influences, namely the Moroccan percussion and string instruments wound so deftly through the whole album. Besides, Imhotep could not be limited to one generic category. With songs like the lithe "Sahara Shuffle", the warped "Something’s Wrong", and the irresistible "Last Drop of the Source" he lets us know that, hey, maybe we haven’t heard it all before.
Artist Index
Imhotep - "Blue Print"
Item 04812 $20.95 CD. Songs: Essaouria’s atmosphere, Caravan’s walk 1, Balaphone’s fiend, Bendir beat 1, Deep roots tree, Aquatic raga, Sahara shuffle, Marble mine, Something wrong, Give peace a last chance, Useless sacrifice, Bendir beat 2, Last drop of the source, Something right, Straight out of the dune, Good old bled, Rising clavsun, Bendir beat 3, Still a war in the east, Caravan’s walk 2, Back to the dune. No lyrics – all songs are instrumentals.
To hear a sample:
