Lo'Jo
Au Cabaret Sauvage
(World Village)
Neither of these two Luaka Bop CDs - the first, collecting quite nu-Northern-European electronic IDMers, the second, a batch of nouvelle Franco-gypsies - strikes new territory.  Anyone with adventurously electic musical tastes probably already knows Pole, Schneider TM, La Tordue and Lo'Jo.  What Blip and Cuisine really signal is the return of David Byrne and his heady haute label to the realms of compiling; reviving a mix-tape art (with accompanying cool graphics, family trees and historical fact-packed liner notes by Byrne) lost to dullard revolution of every DJ making remix compendiums.  As he's done with previous series of classics from Brazil, Cuba and the Afro-Peruvian continuum, Byrne finds definitive mometns within the art from - blip-hop's exclusive syn-tones, hoots, hollers and sexy, rattled grooves of new Piafs - and exploits them into a unified freshview whole.  So Mouse on Mars' pseudo-horn blasts ("Mykologics") blend neatly into To Rococo Rot's Art of Noise-like stilllife string rattle ("Pantone") and Trineo's oval-ominous dub ("Humorosso").  For Music decidedly moister, there's the humid, clap-happy bandenon-and-guitar of Lo'Jo ("Baji Larabat"), the chamber-skiffle of Tetes Raides ("Un P'tit Air"), the Prince-esque trombone funk of CQMD, the bass-heavy bongo of Louise Attaque, the acid-cello-laden Ignatus and the breathy tuba jazz du ravin of Arthur H.  It's worth noting that the team of gypsies that is Lo'Jo released their own new CD: a look at French chanson filled with whole-earthnomadic touches (Indian Instruments like sarangi and harmonium, Western Africa touches of kora and balafon, Northern Niger harmonies) and Gypsy violins so sweetly arranged you'll find yourself swooning before singers gruff (Denis Pean) and playerful (French Algerian sisters Nadia and Yamina Nid El Mourid).  If all this is old hat to you, you'll at least enjoy Byrne's unifications.  If all this is new to you, then you've found a great new road to musical adventure.  Bon Voyage.  
                                                    - A.D. Amorosi