psytones Posted July 17, 2009 Share Posted July 17, 2009 Kukan Dub Lagan – New Life New Vision (MikelaBella Records) 2009 (MBCD003) 01. Colazione Dalla Nonna (2:44) 02. La Vita (6:20) 03. Zingari Vibes (5:01) 04. Psychedelic Funk-O-Delic (5:08) 05. The Re-Turn of the Master (7:00) 06. Funk Me (5:34) 07. Volcano Session (6:22) 08. SunSet With MikelaBella (4:27) 09. Scratch (7:27) 10. New Life New Vision (7:15) 11. L´illusione del Capitano (4:55) 12. Special Hidden Track: SunRise With MikelaBella (5:55) Kukan Dub Lagan throughout his three full albums and compilation outputs has always made cartoonish PsyDub Reggae tunes from a childish and funny heart. His debut album Life is Nice really caught my attention and love because of this peculiar approach and I experienced his debut under a couple of mushroom trips that had an ability to create a very comfortable and colored scenario with green lime tones and fun beats to cheer up the strange mood. And since Life is Nice shined happiness is bliss and ignorance is a gift, I could not help to feel a certain sense of respect for his contribution to the PsyDub marked. I got to say that Life is Nice was like a fresh seed when it was released in 2004 by Candyflip Records. And that’s for sure a very special value on its own. Itay Berger is emotionally and technically evolving as his years pass by, making his sound become more mature and full of life. His debut Life is Nice was highly loved by many for its good and unique Reggae vibes as it had a touch that bled pure heart and warm sunshine with a Corona with lime in its hand. Its beautiful charm inside childish behavior was not only praised and adored by reviewers, but it was also the target of heavy critique. People felt it was too simple, easy and amateurish. It just wasn’t complicated enough for some listeners craving for mental meltdowns and blissful complexity. The years passed and finally Itay released his follow-up Step InA Rasta Step which showcased an improvement in production and sound. Itay has now returned with a new and heavenly improved Kukan sound that refuses to put aside the cartoonish citrus vision that makes Kukan Dub Lagan’s music sound as special as it does. Instead he has taken the sound he’s famous for and boosted it with a huge assembly of details, effects and acoustic instruments. To lay it down plain and simple, Itay’s acoustics has had a facelift worthy of a grown and responsible man with a good heart. Let me try to take you through the tracks: The intro (T1) starts out very mysteriously with cute frequencies where his beloved daughter adds greeting words through a telephone in echo to her mother. Very cute and charming with a pleasant and fun filled reggae walk to let us know what’s to be expected. La Vita (T2) shows some good drum work in all variations but has a slow walk that feels a tad too gloomy. The Zingari Vibes (T3) has a funny intro in Mexico! Hey hop let’s blop while the radio noise takes in the vibe, and you can for sure hear that Kukan’s production skills has been raised to the rooftop since his debut release. The bass and effects really smoothens the high. But the vibe feels tired, even though some joker bleeps and brass instruments try to lighten the mood. In the Psychedelic Funk-O-Delic track (T4), the skittering effects places a strange carpet on the floor and the sounds portray them self in different altitudes, which feels impressive in the precision. The Rastafarian is waking up a bit now to some morning guitars that shines on through the thick smoke floating beautifully inside the room as the Re-Turn of the Master (T5) introduces heavier strokes for different folks. Bass almost pulls you out the door to greet a wide open world of shimmering smiles. But for some reason it’s hard to get out the door because you’re moving so slowly. Got to pack it up and pick it up soon. An organ plays to Funk Me (T6), and effects bounce from side to side on the wall. Still moving slow, oh man I’m so stoned. Piano tingles away while the heavy trumpets puff the Funk. In Volcano Session (T7), Kukan Dub Lagan puts some hot weight on the bass, like it’s going into a D’n’B/BigBeat session or something, but it doesn’t go there, only hints. Some chimers and breathing effects are added while introducing some long awaited tempo to the dead stoned Rastafarian trying to step out of the house. Awakening now, high sun on the sky is down? Some fresh breezes from the window make the blood flow faster. Oh yeah, heavy dub, man, heavy. The walk-flow is steady and sturdy with confidence while disturbing yet gentle effects sharpen your senses. Flamenco guitars shines - bassline still sturdy and firm, very nice, this puts the mind at trance and entertains the smile with blow horns in shine. In SunSet With MikelaBella (T8), we get a return of the phone from the intro. So who are we calling this time, aliens from outer galactic paradises? ‘Waiting...Waiting....’ Smooth strings take place and we get some bamboo play. Again more guitars as the album seem packed with instruments hiding in the corners and flashing you with its presence - lots of instruments in this album. Bass dubs the realm and we’re back to the typical Kukan vibe, sort of strange and simple, yet nice and chilled. Since the track is a short one I can only assume by its feeling and time that it’s a paused track, sort of let’s roll another spliff, mon. In Scratch (T9) some space noise with soul enters and the bass farts in a safety mode and lifts the tempo which makes us feel fine! Enjoy the farts, they make you feel lighter inside. Some eerie effects that make the head dizzy scratches the mind. Eventually it gets some funk on but still sort of softly disturbs. Too bad the fart was the only good thing in this track… Comforted dub realms enterers the space with the baby girl trying to speak while drums grooves the groove in the title track, New Life New Vision (T10). This is more of the typical reggae dub mood with some dreamy pianos floating by its side - Very standard but also nice and comfortable. Static noise floats L’illusione del Capitano ashore (T11). Again some heavy dub slides. Sluggish is the mood and heavy is the weight. Some lightheaded weird strings play silently by its side to lime the lager but I’m still sitting with a feeling of lust, lust for something extra, a story or a higher evolution. I feel sad that my Rastafarian never reached his goal to go out the door, because it looks like that last roll made him crash on the couch. Special Hidden Track (T12) is a counter to the eight track, hence the name SunRise with MikelaBella. It’s properly a good morning track for Itay’s daughter and it puts a smile on a morning face, I can imagine. It’s not so hidden as it is more of a bonus track which contains a Mexican guitar in my Rastafarian morning dream sleeping on the sofa. There are some awkward feelings, strange sound and morning mood - Kukan mood. Then the step drops some plings and plongs to end the call from a new life, and a new vision. Recommendation: There are absolutely no doubt, Itay Berger has upgraded his skills in sound and production to a respected level. It’s actually quite impressive as there are so many nicely layered parts with computer noises to acoustic instruments wrapped in organic paper and smoked in a weird but nice fashion. For the doubters of Kukan's complexity in sound and production, he is now proving his worth in making something utterly professional and charming. For some his previous outputs became albums hard to connect to because of their personal feel and vibration which for some can remain a problem. As with Bluetech’s latest output The Divine Invasion, Kukan simply reflects his soul when making music. So if you don’t fancy his sound and don’t really care about his improvement in complexity and detail because the overall feel is not for you, then you’re excused and may leave the table - Because what comes from within is nicely portrayed in Itay’s musical art. That said, in New Life New Vision you can really feel and hear that his journey is settling in, what comes in the fourth and fifth round is hard to predict, but it can only become finer. As all outputs by Kukan, this album seems very personal and a sort of a special tribute to his family, especially his daughter who has properly joined in to help her father make sounds and dances. Itay with his Kukan Dub Lagan project manages to make Electronic Reggae PsyDub in his own fashion and you will recognize the Kukan vibe from far away and he succeeds in doing so with a certain sense of style and pride. This is undoubtedly oldskoolish in smell yet totally new in context and look. He makes his Reggae dub unique and very different from his peers inside the Electronic scene. It’s a million times more complicated than his debut and a notable upgrade from his second album. Something worth mentioning is the mastering which is respectfully done by Jeff Lipton who also did a superb job on the ‘Easy Star All-Stars – Radiodread’ album (The group who made a dub version of Dark Side of the Moon by Pink Floyd, or Dub Side of the Moon as they named it). When it comes to my own personal complaints, I feel that the overall feel of the album is of lack of that sunny and dreamy sound which I initially fell in love with. It tends to walk to slow with a tad gloomy feel and doesn’t really excite my pants as much as I wanted it too. It sort of feels to tired, which properly reflects the exhausting but joyful job of being a proud new parent. Also the overall variation is something I feel his albums from Life is Nice to this one has always been lacking. It comes off as sounding maybe a bit boring and similer as it progresses to it's end. But of course, an album like this can only grow on you with it's massive charm. When speaking of the albums progression and story, I think he should have built the album differently. Maybe started it with stoned tired vibes and let it evolve into something more awake and energetic. Like setting the mood to another stage and freeing the soul instead of slow walking it back into sleep. I’m not a good criticizer, so I don’t want to tell the man how to do his job. But for me this and his last output didn’t catch me on the personal plane so much. But you know the old saying, taste is like the ass, it’s separated in two and in most cases it stinks (hehe). Kukan Dub Lagan has like mentioned many times before improved his sound and quality. Each release raising the bar from the last one, an evolution we all can respect and enjoy. As for his creativity I got to admit that his third release seems to have combined all of Itay’s experiences and wisdom to create a sound that sounds nothing like someone else, and for that I tip my beanie in awe and respect. I think that Itay with his own evolution of life is trying to progress each step further and further without losing what makes him, him. Kukan’s unique psychedelic dub sound gives a lot of pleasure and amusement to the ones who are willing to join his journey in sonic visions. In my personal taste so far, I love his first album because of nostalgic memories and it's power to be something very new and different, I didn't really like his second album although it had it's moments, and I find this third to be much bettter then the second but still in lack of something to make me love it. Let me finish off my long and maybe defused review by telling you a secret. –Itay is now working on a remix album to Kukan Dub Lagan's debut, Life Is Nice. Let’s see what will come out of that!! Have fun because life is nice and enjoy your visions - Rasta Steppa .:: Key Words: Electronic Reggae PsyDub Favorite Tracks: 1(!), 4, 7 Where to buy and other links: Itay's homepage: http://www.kukantaiko.com KukanSpace: http://www.myspace.com/kukandublagan Discogs: http://www.discogs.com/artist/Kukan+Dub+Lagan MikelaBella: http://www.discogs.com/label/MikelaBella+Records Psyshop.com: http://www.psyshop.com/shop/CDs/mlb/mlb1cd003.html Beatport: https://www.beatport.com/en-US/html/content...mp;a486-index=2 Play.com: http://www.play.com/Search.aspx?searchtype....x=0&go.y=0 Juno.co.uk: http://www.juno.co.uk/ppps/products/357283-01.htm More Reviews: http://www.myspace.com/psytonesmusic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
longloststar Posted July 17, 2009 Share Posted July 17, 2009 Do you like this one more or less than his second album Step InA Rasta Step? I like his first, but found his second very boring. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psytones Posted July 17, 2009 Author Share Posted July 17, 2009 ^Because of your question I added a few lines to my review! Do you like this one more or less than his second album Step InA Rasta Step? I like his first, but found his second very boring. Hi Longman, I defiantly love his first album Life is Nice the most. It doesn't matter if it was a million times less advanced with the same melody key throughout the album. It just managed to catch me more. The second one I never connected to. It bored me too much and to be honest, I never got to listen to it more than a few times. I think this third release is pretty good and has major improvements from the first and second, but what is loved from the first is sort of missing, so it can best be compared to his second album. So if the second album is in your love drawer (Tatsu loves it!!), this one will please you huge time. It's defiently better then Step InA Rasta Step. The good and very exiting news for people like us is this: Let me finish off my long and maybe defused review by telling you a secret. –Itay is now working on a remix album to Kukan Dub Lagan's debut, Life Is Nice. Let’s see what will come out of that!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psytones Posted August 2, 2009 Author Share Posted August 2, 2009 ^ Imagine Life Imagine life as a game in which you are juggling some five balls in the air. You name them: Work, Family, Health, Friends, Spirit. And you re keeping all of these in the air. You will soon understand that work is a rubber ball. If you drop it, it will bounce back. But the other four balls-family, health, friends and spirit are made of glass. If you drop one of these, they will be irrevocably scuffed , marked, nicked , damaged or even shattered . They will never be the same. You must understand that and strive for balance in your life. .. *spam* at first I was like, 'damn thats a odd and good review, then I noticed the spam .. too bad, it could have been a great one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morpheus Music Posted August 12, 2009 Share Posted August 12, 2009 Kukan Dub Lagan - New Life New Vision Morpheus Music Review STYLE Psychedelic dub and downtempo digital reggae. New Life New Vision presents Kukan Dub Lagan's signature sound with greater refinement and maturity of vision than ever before. Here are the familiar off-beat stabs and bright brassy phrases set against quirky programmed beats laced with congas and bongos, the lumbering synthetic basses and rasta vocal snippets embellished with electronic melody lines and guitar phrases. However, the tracks on New Life New Vision reveal increasingly a confident solidity and more clearly defined sonic personality than on previous releases. Introductions to a number of the tracks are used as opportunities to break up the structures and play with more experimental or personal sounds - baby talk, folk strings, zappy electro-fx and glitch forms. ARTWORK The artwork retains the red, gold, green palette of previous releases with heavy emphasis on shades of green and long swirling graphic forms. The abstract curls of the front cover are echoed in the spotted leaf edges on the rear, the bright lime and olive hues of the design work more softly presented in the unfurling buds hidden behind the CD. The jewel case delivery includes a three panel fold-out insert that contains an extended tracklist, generous thanks and credits, along with relevant website and contact information. A proud father and baby photograph is found on the final panel of the insert with a verse to baby Sofia OVERALL New Life New Vision comes as the third full length release from Israel based Itay Berger under the Kukan Dub Lagan moniker. The album is released via the artist's own MikelaBella Records label which has been in operation now for the past two years delivering Electro, House, Techno and Dubstep. The current Kukan album features twelve tracks of retro inspired contemporary dub electronica which promotional material appropriately explains "hail from a rainbow of eclectic musical genres from both the traditional and experimental spectrums of sound, yet belonging to none." Truly Itay's music is distinctive and individual - no-one else makes anything that sounds quite like this - warm, exuberant and infectious. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.