Antipop Consortium "Antipop Consortium vs. Matthew Shipp"
Thirsty Ear-
THI 57120(
2003)
file under: Jamband/Electronica, Downtown New York
Antipop Consortium (M. Sayyid, High Priest, Beans, Earl Blaize) - vocals, synthesizers, programming Matthew Shipp - piano William Parker - bass Guillermo E. Brown - drums Khan Jamal - vibraphone Daniel Carter - trumpet
Upon first glance, the pairing of hip-hop revolutionaries Antipop Consortium with lower Manhattan free-jazz piano master Matthew Shipp seems an unlikely combination. However, the fact is this collaboration has been waiting to happen- it is the next logical step in Thirsty Ear Records' Blue Series. You might even say it's been nearly a century in the making, a new form born of an awareness of the traditions it springs from as well as a desire to move beyond them. Since their formation, Antipop Consortium has been consciously pushing the boundaries of hip-hop, freeing the form from its standard 4/4 breakbeat traditions. Meanwhile, Shipp in his collaboration with Thirsty Ear as artistic director of the forward-thinking Blue Series, has been combining his free-jazz roots with a new, tighter sensibility, emphasizing the groove on Blue Series releases 'Nu-Bop' and the upcoming 'Equilibrium'. Featuring the trio of Shipp, Parker and Brown, plus Khan Jamal on vibes and Daniel Carter on trumpet, with manipulation and vocal virtuosity from Antipop, Antipop vs. Matthew Shipp redefines both jazz and hip-hop. Even as the Antipop members part ways to pursue various solo endeavors, this unintentional farewell both unifies and departs from the past to deliver the future directly into the present. Look forward, look back. This is that powerful music, Antipop's High Priest declares. We hope you agree. - from Thirsty Ear

"He grooves, he dances (figuratively) on his keys, he delights with phantasmagorical wonders: He is none other than the wondrous Matthew Shipp, who invites you into his den of magical juxtapositions. Step right up, ladies and gentlemen, right this way, and open the doorway to new sounds, or at least combinations you never expected. This one matches the hip-hop conundrums of Anti Pop Consortium, who will wow you with its revolutionary discombobulations, with the cerebral machinations of free jazz wizard Matthew Shipp, who lays it down low with stretched fingers that scratch the pavement. The pianist brings with him old friends -- bassist William Parker, trumpeter Daniel Carter, drummer Guillermo E. Brown, and vibist Khan Jamal -- but when they confront the cool sounds of Anti Pop, they defer with respectful submission. The fireworks do not ignite the way they might have, but that is the nature of experimentation. Nevertheless, this is all great fun, a function of Shipp's slippery mind, and the results are not only danceable but disconcertingly so. Shipp is downright melodic for the most part, and even the hip hip-hoppers seem barely radical, and yet the outcome is not liable to be quite anything you've heard before. Sure, it crosses over and you have to suspend critical analysis, at least sometimes, but kudos to Anti Pop and Shipp for expanding their horizons, for dreaming, and for trying something new and keeping it fresh. - Steven Loewy, All Music Guide
Very much the delicious sum of its perplexing parts." - CMJ New Music Report

The Staff Recommends...
Other Dimensions in Music with Matthew Shipp - Time Is Of The Essence; The Essence Is Beyond Time
Vijay Iyer & Mike Ladd - In What Language?
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1CD-
$15.00

Track
Listing (click linked titles for mp3)
1.
Places I've Never Been
[3:21]
2.
Staph
[5:38]
3.
Slow Horn
[3:09]
4.
Knot in Your Bop
[4:02]
5.
SVP
[5:19]
6.
Coda
[3:23]
7.
Stream Light
[3:41]
8.
Monstro City
[3:09]
9.
Real Is Surreal
[3:08]
10.
Free Hop
[7:13]
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