Description:
Darkel is the nom de plume of - and, indeed, title of, the debut solo album from - one JB Dunckel, by day one half of Gallic electronic pop duo Air. Initially hailed as the young princes of post-club chill-out sounds, later Air albums such as 2004's Talkie Walkie would bear the more esoteric influence of cosmic jazz, progressive rock, and the synthesiser sounds of New Age countryman Jean Michel-Jarre. It takes just a quick glance at Darkel's inner sleeve - and the picture of Dunkel posed by an analogue mixing desk in flat cap and ornate shirt, looking every inch the studio auteur - to determine this will be a work of similarly l
Darkel is the nom de plume of - and, indeed, title of, the debut solo album from - one JB Dunckel, by day one half of Gallic electronic pop duo Air. Initially hailed as the young princes of post-club chill-out sounds, later Air albums such as 2004's Talkie Walkie would bear the more esoteric influence of cosmic jazz, progressive rock, and the synthesiser sounds of New Age countryman Jean Michel-Jarre. It takes just a quick glance at Darkel's inner sleeve - and the picture of Dunkel posed by an analogue mixing desk in flat cap and ornate shirt, looking every inch the studio auteur - to determine this will be a work of similarly lofty, cape-clad ambition. Oh, not explicitly so: built from strings, piano, and Dunkel's soft, airy vocal, songs like "Some Men" and the Michel-Jarre-a-like "Be My Friend" seldom lose their sense of composure. But beneath the sweet sentiments of numbers like "My Own Sun" ("I don't need diamond rings/To earn my angel wings") lie the sort of deceptively complex, organic synth-and-strings symphonies that give up their depths slowly. And if that makes Darkel sound somewhat precious, luckily that's an impression neatly dispelled by the cosmic disco of "Earth", or "TV Destroy" - a slice of fuzzy pop psychedelia as endearingly immediate as "Sexy Boy".--Louis Pattison
... (more)
(less)
Manufacturer: Emi
Release date: 18 September 2006
EAN: 0094637289129 UPC: 094637289129
My tags:
Add tags
Login
