Paul St. Hilaire - A Divine State Of Mind
Paul St. Hilaire - A Divine State Of Mind
(CD) False Tuned FTD-2 / Indigo 86459-2, 2006-10-27
Review :
A superb nu-dub meets roots reggae offering from Dominican-born Paul St Hilaire (formerly Tikiman), perfect for late night spliff tripping & lounging. Released on his own False Tuned label, subsidiary of Basic Channel/Chain Reaction - the masters of electronic dub from Berlin.
Djouls
Tracklisting :
01. Little Song
02. Peculiar
03. Praise
04. Jah Won't Let Us Down
05. Clock A Tick
06. Jah Love
07. Office
08. Humble
09. Black Moses
10. Fortunate
11. Jah Live Over The Hills
12. Rootsy
Links
false-tuned.de
indigo.de
Press Release :
Yet with is first self produced album Unspecified, published 2003 on his label False Tuned, Paul St. Hilaire proved how profound and relaxed at the same time vigorous and vibrant electronic roots reggae can sound nowadays - beyond pure dub or classic band formats. It is this approach which he follows up forcefully on his new album A Divine State Of Mind by refininf and perfecting it.
"Check Some Dub Style", it says right in the beginning of the impulsive Little Song - and gives a hint to St. Hilaire's mastership in using dub as a production method. Reverb, echos and divers sound effects have grown to musical modules here being able to let classic one-drop-riddims float in the air just as well to widen the space of electronic pulsative beat. You have guitarlicks and organ sounds, chased through palaces of echos, more conventional tunes like Black Moses or Jah Live Over The Hills, social-political comments (Fortunate Fortunate) and religious poetry (Praise; Jah Love), oscillating basses working on your speakers and many other sounds more, like fishes cavorting in the water. The binding brace of all being St. Hilaire's sublime singing always leaving space for the listener's own associations.
Electronic and analog instruments, song and track, singing and deejaying, roots and futurism merge on A Divine State Of Mind - and, rather atypical within the reggae landscape, Paul St. Hilaire demonstrates again his skills of an allround musician: composer, singer, instrumentalist, and producer.