Multiply

Released

This album was greeted with some horror by the fans of Lidell’s electronic work with Super_Collider, wonky techno collective Subhead and on his own Muddlin’ Gear album. With arch-ironist Canadians-in-Berlin Gonzalez and Rocky backing him up, it’s a dramatic turn to vaudevillian funk and neo-soul, and showbiz to the hilt — seemingly a million miles from grubby underground raves and the wild experimentalism of Lidell’s early works. But in fact, his sampling, looping and beat building are still astounding on this record, and the fusion with the soul-man act is impeccable. Plus there are hooks for days — this is a stone cold classic album for the ages (it’s worth also seeking out the remakes of the songs by the likes of Luke Vibert and Mara Carlyle on some extraordinary remix packages too).

Joe Muggs