“Let’s Get Killed”

David Holmes

“When The Funk Hits The Fan”

Sylk 130

Techno maestro David Holmes and funk collective Sylk 130 (fronted by the hep King Britt) share a common inspiration to explore everyday life and transform it into music. On “Let’s Get Killed,” Holmes studies the vast culture found in New York City. On “When The Funk Hits The Fan,” Britt recreates life as a funk musician.

Holmes’ CD is filled with fantastic drum-and-bass, acid jazz and ambient excursions peppered with snippets of conversation, and traffic and crowd noise that float like specters throughout the mix.

Sylk 130’s CD finds the group painting a vivid picture of smoky clubs, hopping gigs and beautiful lounge lizards. But while the CD’s title implies that the music is straight funk, the songs are actually a potpourri of R & B, jazz, funk, blues, Motown and soul.

Overall, both CDs are really good, but for different reasons. Holmes’ songs (especially “My Mate Paul” and “Slasher’s Revenge”) provide the next best thing to being in the city that never sleeps. No photograph, book or poem can come close to matching the stark images that Holmes perceives, captures and transforms into musical landscapes that tell stories with musical notes. It is meant to be digested and pondered.

Sylk 130’s music is instantly gratifying and easy to groove to. The songs on this CD are guaranteed to make you tap your toes, nod your head and smile. From the beautiful female vocals on “The Reason” (which also makes great use of a sample from Boz Scagg’s “Lowdown”) to the dynamite vocal flow found on “City (5-6 Theme),” this CD is one long, orgasmic peak.

“Let’s Get Killed”

5 stars out of five

“When The Funk Hits The Fan”

4 stars out of five

— Ben Jones

“‘Shooting Fish’ Soundtrack”

Various Artists

There is very little on this CD that could be considered good.

Although some of the artists featured on this disc are noteworthy (Symposium, Supereal, The Wannadies), most of them are bland and dismissable.

This includes The Bluetones, Dubstar, Passion Star, The Divine Comedy and Stainslas Syrewicz.

Space contributes two mediocre songs (“Neighborhood” and “Me & You Versus The World”). Both have fun lyrics, but the vocals and overall sound are atrocious.

The Supernatural’s “The Day Before Yesterday’s Man” would be better off as the soundtrack to a pathetic Mentos commercial, David McAlmont’s “I’m A Better Man (For Having Loved You)” is pabulum, and the two oldies on this CD (Dionne Warwick’s “Do You Know The Way To San Jose” and Jackie De Shannon’s “What The World Needs Now Is Love”) are enough to make almost anyone vomit numerous times.

But fortunately, the entire CD isn’t garbage. Supereal offer up a decent techno song called “Body Medusa” (a remix by Leftfield). Symposium’s “Twist” and The Wannadies’ “Friends” are also worth a listen.

Yet, these three songs don’t provide much of a reason to buy this soundtrack, especially when all three of these groups have their own CDs out.

1 star out of five

— Ben Jones