Son of Dave - 01
Son of Dave - 01 is an
album in a completely new musical genre and as such, is quite difficult to describe. It
was clearly created by the blending of strong influences and original experimentation and
is therefore just as difficult to categorise
Here’s what you can say about this album: It’s a mixture
of modern R&B, hip-hop and electronics with an edge ; it has a strong bluesy feeling
and (naturally) a lot of harmonica. The harp player in question and leader of the project
is Benjamin Darvill, who has played with, among others, the Crash Test Dummies. He was
obviously brought up on the blues and has a great love for the instrument. So the first
thing we can say is that "Son of Dave - 01" is an album the likes of which you
have probably never heard before.
It opens with a hard, pseudo-live, slide riff quickly joined by harmonica
and drums. Nothing new so far, until suddenly a wave of Fender-Rhodes style synthesiser
envelops everything and a Diva like voice takes up the main theme. The harmonica weaves in
an out of the lead, all this on a tight and funky rhythm. This first track, "Devil
Take My Soul" is characteristic of the whole with its mix of genres and the quality
of the performance.
Let's talk about harmonica for a while. "Son of Dave - 01" is
not strictly speaking a "harmonica" album but there is a lot of it and the
variety of the roles it plays is nothing less than astonishing : from the classic solo
role to haunting rhythm (as on a "dance floor" version of the blues classic
"Rolling and Tumblin’" ) to horn section (on "She’ll Hold Her
Breath ") and atmospheric layering (throughout.) Benjamin Darvill is a fine player
even though this album does not reveal any particular virtuosity. What is surprising and
makes him an artist of note is his inventiveness and the way he uses the harp sound in
different textures, from sharp and clear to saturated or modified by special effects but
always recognisable.
At the end of the day, I find it particularly interesting
to see the harmonica at last finding its way out of the blues ghetto and making itself
known little by little within other musical contexts. What I find particularly interesting
in the case of Benjamin Darvill and his "Son of Dave - 01" is that this is the
kind of music that gets airtime and can be appreciated and enjoyed by the under 20’s
generation. Integrating the harp in modern musical form is the only way to keep the
instrument alive and Benjamin Darvill does it with talent and a quality of production
beyond reproach. The fact that he does it with an obvious love of the harmonicas roots is
an added bonus.
Personally, I am not a great fan of electronic music but I have to admit that once any
preconceived ideas have been laid to rest, "Son of Dave" makes very pleasant
listening. I can wholeheartedly recommend this album if your musical tastes should be
hip-hop, trip hop or electro hop or if your ears are tuned to modern styles.
Benoît Felten |
