Montreal duo Tanuki Project named their latest EP Adamant, and Legyl (programming, bass, beats) and Nady (voice) actually seem quite adamant (or very determined if you will) to breath some new life into the downtempo/trip-hop genre.
The four-track EP showcases an assured and well-developed sound that draws its inspiration from all the right sources ― Massive Attack, Tricky, Portishead, Air.
Yet, the duo mix those sources up and come with their own brew that seems fitting into the new downtempo/trip hop trends.
Of course, Tanuki Project just didn’t drop in out of thin air. The duo have been crafting their music since Playground For Everyone, their initial release back in 2007, with five more releases before Adamant, where it all seems to have fallen into place musically.
Upon listening to Adamant, or most of their previous releases, many would label Tanuki Project’s music as cinematic. Actually, that should be no wonder, as they have been combining their music with multimedia performances on stage, and the symbiosis seems to have worked well for them in making their music gain that visual dimension.
The sound images they conjure are quite close to what they present it in their own words:
“The journey is from the freedom of living in the moment as a hunter-gatherer, through subjugation via superstition, through subjugation via industrialization, through subjugation via artificial intelligence, through to liberty of thought via reclaiming the moment as experienced by the hunter-gatherer.”
Quite close, actually.
