The coordinates for the latest from the starry-eyed soul man map out a territory of heady funk, kaleidoscopic pop and runaway rock n' roll for maximum punch and crunch with a little sugar on top. 2ser Subscribers can win a copy of this album all week on Breakfast, Overdrive and Static.
Having just completed a whirlwind tour of Australia (including the Playground Weekender festival), electro-soul crooner Jamie Lidell has announced his fourth full-length album, ‘Compass’, out 14th May on Warp (Grizzly Bear, Maximo Park). Featuring appearances by Beck, Feist, Grizzly Bear’s Chris Taylor and Wilco’s Pat Sansone, the album is Jamie’s most exhilarating, eclectic and diverse yet.
Becoming a critical sensation in 2005 with his sophomore album, ‘Multiply’, Jamie Lidell sketched out a unique style, which blended glitch and IDM with Philly Soul and outrageous funk. In 2008, Jamie followed with ‘Jim’ – a luscious concoction of R&B, disco, grooves and gospel.
In a similar vein, ‘Compass’ boasts songs which shift, chop, change and mutate genres. Lead single and title track, “Compass” (featuring instrumental arrangements from Chris Taylor), is a folk-inspired torch song, while “Enough’s Enough” is a sugar-coated tribute to Jackson Five-era Michael Jackson. “She Wants Me” is a creamy slice of sensual soul, while “You Are Walking” is a heaving, fuzzed-out garage jam. “Coma Chameleon” – written by Beck – is stomping, sinister pop, while “Big Drift” is an unsettling slice of “mystical drone”, with verses penned by Jamie, Feist, Beck, and Lindsey Rome respectively.
Sessions began at Beck’s Hudson Studios in Los Angeles, where he gathered Jamie together with Wilco, Leslie Feist and veteran drummer James Gadson (who’s hit sticks for Bill Withers, Quincy Jones among many others) for Beck’s Record Club project (where a group of musicians cover an album in a day).
Inspired by the chemistry of those jams, they shifted to the legendary Ocean Way Studios. There, they were joined by producer/keyboardist Brian Lebarton, singer Nikka Costa, and Justin Stanley. All would have an important impact on the album. Pat Sansone from Wilco and Chilly Gonzales (who’s played on both ‘Multiply’ and ‘Jim’) were present as “musical meta-spirits”, recording their parts remotely and delivering them via the internet. Back in New York he began to make sense of this “great big mess on the hard drive.” Then it was up to Feist’s ranch in the Niagara Escarpment, Canada with Chris Taylor, producer and member of Brooklyn avant-pop sensations Grizzly Bear.
Musically and lyrically, ‘Compass’ is certainly a Jamie Lidell joint, reflecting a year of change, love, longing and arrival at a new place. “I wrote every song in a month,” Jamie says, “It’s been an emotional couple of years, so I tapped into what I wanted to say and started writing. There was a lot to draw on.”
As flamboyant as Prince, as daring as Squarepusher, and as seductive as Al Green, Jamie Lidell is a whole new kind of star. Completely distinctive and utterly brilliant, ‘Compass’ is one of the most compelling records you will hear this year.
