Dub and Reggae Done with a Quantic Twist
Ben Hernandez Jr. | Southern Cali | 07/15/2010
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Will Holland, otherwise known for his more popular moniker as Quantic, possesses an innate ability to meld a myriad of musical genres such as hip hop, funk, soul, bossa nova, salsa, jazz, and other styles. The result of this amalgam of genres has produced albums that have earned a rightful spot in the rotations of eclectic music aficionados worldwide. His latest effort, Dog With A Rope, was released under the Quantic Presenta Flowering Inferno guise, which cleverly fuses dub and reggae with Latin-infused harmonies, giving it an even more unique twist on an already distinct style. Early presumptions prior to listening to the album were that if Dog With A Rope is like any other Quantic album, then it's sure to audibly please and sure enough, it did just that.
The tracks were originally composed and produced in Cali, Colombia and once the title track "Dog With A Rope" starts, you feel as if you're peering off into a shimmering Colombian beach with Quantic's sound providing the perfect musical backdrop. You're sure to don the dancing shoes on this one as all tracks are laced with the blaring of trumpets tempered by well-timed percussion, which is evident in tracks like "Dub Y Guaguanco". The following tracks, "Swing Easy" and "Echate Pa'lla (Version)", bring down the tempo to a steady, easing pace until "Portada Del Mar" brings you back to your feet with its infectious melody. More playful horns audibly adorn tracks like "Cumbia Sobra el Mar" and "Te Picó el Yaibí (Version)", bringing this musical fiesta to life. The rest of the album plays out in similar fashion until you arrive to "Echate Pa'lla", which brings an air of Latin jazz to the forefront a la Tito Puente-style.
With so many styles blended into one, Dog With A Rope may be difficult to musically categorize. The safe route would be to label it as Latin dub and reggae album, but it still has all the musical treatments that only Quantic can seamlessly incorporate, giving it a sound that truly stands on its own. In fact, Quantic should be deemed as its own musical genre. All in all, this album will please and good music is good music regardless of where that line of musical demarcation is drawn.
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Track Listings (10) - Disc #1