Day 0936 - A Little Deeper

Miss Dynamite "A Little Deeper" (2002)

The book makes comparisons between Miss Dynamite and Lauryn Hill, suggesting MD helped fill the gap left by Hill's absence from the music scene.   While it's not necessarily always a compliment to label an artist using another's name, being compared to a hugely successful and influential artist like Hill isn't the worst praise to receive.

In places Dynamite has a comparable voice to Hill and this album consists of a similar mix of soul, reggae, hip-hop and RnB.  She cuts her own path though, whether it's the almost loungey (via trip-hop beats) vibe of single "Dy-Na-Mi-Tee", the soul groove of "Brother" or the acapella cry against oppression "Watch over them".   "Krazy Krush" chucks an almost electronic sound into the mix.

I came in not expecting much from the album.  I was familar with "Dy-Na-Mi-Tee" and it didn't necessarily leave me with a favourable impression, but as it was I really enjoyed this one with its simple beats, minimal instrumental arrangements and focus on Dynamite's vocals.

 

Guess I should have looked... a little deeper

  

I'll see myself out.

 

Day 0856 - New Forms

Roni Size/Reprazent "New Forms" (1997)

Roni had grown up in the musical melting pot of Bristol, home of the trip-hop of Portishead and Massive Attack, but also a lot of dub and reggae.   Roni saw gigs by Massive Attack forerunner The Wild Bunch, learned to DJ at his local youth club and formed 'Roni Size and Reprazent.

Their debut album here is an interesting mix of high BPM DnB patterns with dub, soul, jazz bass, and electro tracks.   The songs are generally built on repetitive loops that are given a good 5+ minutes to develop with vocals featuring on some tracks.

I knew the name Roni Size, didn't think I'd heard any of his music but "Digital" sounds quite familiar, so I may have done after all.

Reprazent only released one other album, but Roni collaborated with other artists, did remixes and even contributed to the interesting soundtrack to the film "Spawn" that paired up metal and hard-rock acts with electronic producers and artists.