Gonjasufi – The Caliph's Tea Party

Album Review by Martin Skivington | 27 Sep 2010
Album title: The Caliph's Tea Party
Artist: Gonjasufi
Label: Warp
Release date: 4 Oct

Sumach 'Gonjasufi' Ecks is an esoteric vocalist whose excellent debut album A Sufi And A Killer, released earlier this year, saw him link up with major players from the alt-beats scene, including Flying Lotus and Gaslamp Killer. The Caliph's Tea Party brings an equally subversive band of audiophiles on board to remix the entire album. There's no lack of talent here — Bibio, Dam Mantle and Bear In Heaven all chip in — so the results are unsurprisingly impressive.

Closest to touching the nocturnal, quasi-Eastern feel of the original album is Hezus' take on My Only Friend, with it's creepy, grinding organs and '70s psychedelic aura. Elsewhere, Shlomo's remix of Change expertly blends dark, crackling drums with odd bursts of twinkling bells, while Broadcast & The Focus Group sacrifice Gonjasufi's vocals completely for the left-veering title track. A worthy extension to a compelling album, running the gamut from dubstep to freak-folk. [Martin Skivington]

 

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