Search - Streetlife Originals :: Sidewalk Stories

Relaxed, pleasant yearning; an excellent album

Angry Mofo | 05/21/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Streetlife Originals was the guise of one Bryan J. Robson, a British dance producer who worked in the late nineties. I first became acquainted with the Streetlife sound through the Wax Trax Mastermix compilation by Juan Atkins, which features an edit of Robson's "Lara's Theme." I heard a brief snippet of that track online, and liked it a lot. The pleasant, airy female vocal was given an undercurrent of nocturnal menace by the deep bass and the tough house rhythm; the overall feel was something like sitting in a smoky bar frequented by mobsters, late at night, sipping a drink and watching a soul singer perform on the stage. So I bought a copy of the album.



This album exemplifies the style known as "jazz-house," which combines certain jazz instruments and rhythms with elements of electronic music. The opening track, "Friday at Ronnie's," opens with sounds of people talking amongst each other, in relaxed, easy-going tones, as if the setting is a club where a band is about to start playing; then, jazz-style bass comes in, and a groove gets going, with a bit of live-sounding guitar and keyboards, and a vaguely Latin-sounding rhythm. The underpinning of the groove, however, is entirely electronic: fragile, quiet synthesizer echoes reminiscent of eighties house music, a distorted percussive break, and perfect, mechanical precision on the rhythm. On "Club 11," the next track, this combination is used again; the bass and keyboards create the feel of a jam session between a few jazz musicians out to just have a good time, but they are preceded by a lovely, sensuous electronic intro. This is the music that you listen to on a warm Friday night in the summer, when you're alone and you're thinking about a beautiful woman, with a wistful smile on your face, and you're a little sad, but it's all right, because you might not have her, but at least you love her.



The full version of "Lara's Theme" is less taut and anxious than my first impression led me to believe. It's actually a breezy number, with light little saxophone and keyboard parts. Nonetheless, it steps up the rhythm quite a bit, giving priority to the "house" part of "jazz-house," and the resulting groove is very energetic and danceable; apparently, this track was a minor club hit when it was first released. It is, at its heart, a typical house song with female vocals that coo wordlessly or spontaneously yell "Sweet love!" It is, however, just about as perfect an expression of that form as is possible.



"Hey...What's The Big Idea?" is a bit meandering. I don't think it's that bad a track (the sampled conversation between the philosophical gangster and his dim-witted colleague is pretty funny), but it doesn't match the feel of the album. The percussion sounds like an unfocused jam session, whereas most of the other tracks on the album have clear house rhythms, and the whooshing sound effects don't fit the jazz-house aesthetic. I think it should have been the B-side to "Lara's Theme," so it could be appreciated without disrupting the flow of the album, but that's just me.



Tracks five through eleven, however, are absolutely perfect, continuing the relaxed, mildly minor-key feel of the first two tracks. We start with "Music For Pleasure," which is just what the title says, a whimsical little keyboard tune; however, the very next track, "Electreprise," keeps the same bass line while adding much more prominent and distorted electronic percussion, as well as sampled bursts of keyboard notes. This aggressive backing is combined with contemplative, hushed vocal humming and jazz melodies. In this way, the song sounds edgy and funky, while also being introspective.



"Le Conspiration" changes the tone entirely. Here, Robson breaks out the acoustic guitar, but he doesn't play it like a folk or rock guitar. Instead, he gives the guitar a uniquely European feel, a cold, forlorn ring that makes me think of French or Italian noir films. Appropriately enough, the music accompanies the cool voice of some French woman telling a surreal story, in French and then in English. The album then continues the French noir associations with "The Assassin, Act 1," which opens with a conversation in French between a man and a woman (the gangster and his girlfriend, one might suppose), and then kicks off a nervous, exciting house groove with clanging electronic effects. The conclusion, titled "The Assassin, Act 2," is a haunting, worried bit of acoustic strumming, sampled string counter-melodies, and a guitar break.



There are two more tracks in this vein. "A Song For Melissa" uses a similar technique to "Electreprise," loud bits of electronic distortion puncturing a generally soft melody. "Stereo Musicale" lightens up the mood somewhat, with cheerful vocal samples and acoustic guitars, but layers on a moody electronic keyboard part. After that, the album goes off on a diversion with "How To Get Ahead In New York," which is somewhat out of place on the album; the percussion is too chaotic, overwhelming the other instruments.



Fortunately, the closing is strong. "Visions Of Mars" should have been released as a single; the forceful house thump and jazzy saxophone don't really relate to Mars, but the music is great anyway. The title track, which was released as a single, is insubstantial but fun, kind of like walking down a city street with an overly garrulous but good-hearted female friend. The last track, however, returns us to more sombre territory; once again, there's that European-sounding acoustic guitar, as well as a plaintive and emotional part on the harmonica.



This album may not break a lot of new ground in electronica or jazz, but nonetheless it's probably the best album I've bought in the past year. I highly recommend it. It's a pity that there hasn't been another Streetlife Originals album since this one came out in 1999. If Robson were to record another one, I'm sure he could refine his sound to perfection, and find the recognition he deserves."