Wax Tailor - In the Mood for Life
By: Morgan Bonges
|
Monday October 12, 2009
|
A French hip-hop artist, trip-hop artist (a European creation, it is the combination of electronic and hip-hop music), turntablist, and producer- Wax Tailor is unique. Tailor crafts a more off-beat form of musical expression than what, I imagine, most are accustomed to. This is not your average listening experience, it is a artistic one. And, as with all art, some people will connect to it and understand, while others will simple pass by.
Tailor’s third album, In the Mood for Life, is an eclectic, and at times eerie, arrangement. I say arrangement because many of the tracks are actually short musical, instrumental and/or verbal pieces called skits, more like a performance. "Already Begun", for example, is a 33 second skit that begins with the sound of sirens and car horns and then an old time radio announcer says “Do nothing but relax, no television, no telephones, sounds great.” The effect is odd, peculiar and captivating.
Tailor’s ear for sound is evident in the variety he has created. A painfully beautiful acoustic piece, "City Vapors", opens the album and French singer, Charlotte Savary, lends her soft voice to a number of tracks. Among Savary’s light songs is also heavy hip-hop. The song B-Boy on Wax, for example, is reminiscent of an Eminem and Dr. Dre collaboration. And, in between the two extremes there is a hint Jive and soul.
Hidden within the web of beats, voices and instruments is also some serious social commentary. In one interview Tailor said, "In the Mood for Life is a reflection of that necessity to keep pushing for change including in politics, no matter the circumstances.”
Tailor is currently bringing is European music to the states. He is traveling with a cellist, flutist, singer and MC, which is, too me, a strange set to have. I can imagine, though, that to perform In the Mood for Life live, it has to be a strange experience. Tailor will be performing in Chicago at Schubas Tavern on Oct. 12th at 8 p.m.
