French live dub has always been on a high level, for example take a look at High Tone, Brain Damage, Mei Tei Sho (a mixture of jazz and afrobeat with dub), Le Peuple de l”Herbe (similar climate to Mei Tei Sho), not to omit Zenzile or Ez3kiel. Here I have to say that only Brain Damage and High Tone still function internationally and there is kind of a gap in that style, which is filled by Teldem Com’Unity. That crew comes from Burgundy, but their musical inspirations are reaching far away from France – in their work you can hear dub, electronic music, rock and hip-hop. Album “Absorption” is their second release and it’s different than “Ground Zero” – the debut one which was much closer to reggae and dub music, what granted it a huge audience and some awards (it opened their way to play live all over the France and in a big part of Europe). As they say – the album contains a lot of electronic sounds, and the man connects with the machine into a live music breaking any generic borders – alternative sounds with distorted guitars, hypnotizing loops and massive bass. The first tune is “Angry Man”, a soft intro and preparation to what is waiting for us later, because the next two ones are rough – “Run Dat” conjoins rock and hip-hop and “Muse” interlaces a beautiful melody with heavy metal – great example of how the land of smoothness can be shrouded with darkness. Heavy play is summed up in “Rock’s Skit”, to move forward to the first tune with a guest – Sir Jean (probably known widely thanks to Brain Damage) singing “All about love” with Teldem Com’Unity and Well J, creating one of the best tunes on the album. In “Tell me why”, which has a tough lyrics, we still stay in a climate closer to dub and reggae fans; “Militant Rebel” makes us move to the bass rhythm and bounce off the effects, created by the French and we reach “Safara” with Lyricson. After the first half of the album you could think that it’s a medley rather than an one band’s album. “Pay day” with Joe Pilgrim still keeps us in the dub climate with a bit of electronics, and in steppers “Rockers” they show us, how do they see the dub music. “AGH” proves us how much you can feature in one tune – middle east is mixed with electronics and poured with a dub sauce. “Miracle” is rough electronic in 80/90s style – synths with bass and drums dictating the tempo. At the end we have “Expressure” – a proof that Teldem Com’Unity is a well-knit band and “Absorption” is a huge step forward. You can’t typecast them, and you don’t have to. There is so much music that we – reviewers – make the artificial borders. However, the French show us how five good musicians can found us a musical trip after which we are going to recover for a long time, and when we do we will pack our stuff back and start it once again to widen horizons of our tight minds.
Tracklist
1. Angry Man
2. Run Dat
3. Muse
4. Rock’s Skit
5. All About Love Feat. Sir Jean / Well J
6. Tell Me Why
7. Militant Rebel
8. Safara Feat. Lyricson
9. Pay Day Feat Joe Pilgrim
10. Rockers
11. Phone’s Skit
12. A.G.H
13. Miracle
14. Expressure
Ps. You have to see them live!!!