Without looking back
Passage of time is inexorable and the major part of the rhythms arrived from the inexhaustible net goes by with time too. Many of them will unjustly go unnoticed and many others will touch the sky maybe with no merit. The dub movement seems to be here to stay forever and is living a grace moment in which a lot of talents and some blasphemies appear every day. In the middle of that tumult, the French band High Tone is already a long-distance horse and winner one. Their latest album, Out back (Jarring Effects, 2010), portrays their ambition in a double format. High Tone is such a big magnitude reference in the French musical scene that one can hear their influence almost without trying. As proof of this, we have their numerous collaborations with colleagues in time and space. They began in the second half of the nineties as a part of the range of the rich French dub scene and then they shared a leader role with Le Peuple de l'Herbe, another classic band. Now, almost fifteen years later, they don’t stand by, they are challenging us.
Out back comes with being the assumption of double-siding the same coin, which is not easy. Indeed, everything has its own cross in this life but it’s hard to find it in a group that has its own handwriting in the continued encouragement. Is there nothing new under the sun? Ambition does not mean quality, it is true, but Out back has quality in abundance.
This tapestry of industrial and electronic darkness traps us in an almost hypnotic way. They are actually two albums rather than a double one. So, rather than Out back we should talk about Dub axiom and No border, two complementary works deeply characteristic of the signatories, dub finely seasoned with the new age of dubstep. Finally, it’s a hard and dark work.
Spank opens the first album, Dub axiom, in an Arab tone’s voice that quickly attacks with a sound in an industrial tone and rhythm. An underlying and in crescendo rhythm marks some vocal loops intertwined. Yes, for many people, that’s a perfect reflection of the present days. Impeccable and relentless, then they take us to the colorful but icy stream that starts Dirty urban beat, almost immediately vanished into the darkness of a dismal pace, paused only to certain echoes vocals and some melodic reflection. From this initial metallurgical industry, we fall into the electronic age curiously under the title Dub what, perhaps because the whistles which are intermittently heard wrapping up their first deeply melodic line. That song has apparently some reggae light, but soon we discover an almost lysergic loop feeling. More sluggish in the rate is the track Liqor, more clearly alluding to the origins of dub reggae. The sun makes its way across all those sounds wrapping the album's first words clothed in a good recurring melody. Taking an alcohol bath again, their dub origins are definitely manifested in Liqordub, asking for an energetic feedback. Their best achieved tune comes with a baroque basement in Rub-a-dub-anthem, melodically rhythmic. Fly to the moon takes us back to the daily darkness and leave us ready for the second part with a Boogie dub production in which they play and recreate all they’ve already showed.
The second part, No border, gets very dark. The guitar that serves us their Space Rodeo distresses us as a Kenneth Anger film, and High Tone quickly show themselves strong in the word and rhythm. The atmosphere becomes a dream sequence in Bastard, but it's a wonderful chiaroscuro. Then, eastern dyes and accelerated rhythms just pausing to dream in the back way home. And we follow their particular path of silk caressing sound fabrics of the most evocative. Propal is simply inspiring and serves as a disconcerting prelude to the mighty Uncontrolable flesh, although its carnal reference seems to me too remote due to its electronic sounds. Clearly, it doesn’t fit, and less when it talks about chaos from a scorecard. But it is undeniable its suggestive sound. Ollie Bible seems less exciting, without ruling out that this was the initial intention. And we got the 7th assault with a really exultant High Tone, displaying all their charms. It’s simply vigorous. In the end, they serve their Altered states and we are far, far away from our daily life experience that is finally all we have. Come back with more, please.
Text by Juan Carlos Romero
Photos courtesy of High Tone