構成数 | 1枚

合計収録時間 | 00:48:05

Audio Mixer: Gonjasufi. Photographer: Timothy Saccenti. Mandela Effect is a companion piece to Gonjasufi's bleak, confrontational 2016 full-length, Callus, containing remixes of several tracks from that album, in addition to new recordings and collaborations. The release ventures further down the dark, winding path set by previous Gonjasufi efforts, with several fellow travelers aligning themselves with his unique vision. Here, it seems like the vocalist/producer (named Sumach Ecks) is paying homage to trip-hop at its darkest and most claustrophobic. A cover of "Show" by Beth Gibbons of Portishead (from her 2002 album with Rustin Man, Out of Season) appears early on, with Ecks' whispered vocals covered by a sparse, booming beat and shadowy, distorted guitar. After this, Daddy G from Massive Attack takes on "Your Maker," matching its paranoid lyrics with swift, galloping drums and shimmering delay. Ecks seems to have inspired several of the remixers (particularly ones affiliated with underground hip-hop) to come up with some of their weirdest, most experimental work. Shabazz Palaces fill "Afrikan Spaceship" with revving motorcycle sounds and layers of collapsing, cartoon-like voices. Ras G's version of the same song never settles on a proper beat, instead building up a cacophony of gongs, chimes, and nightmarish sound design. Yet another take on the song, this time by King Britt, has a slow yet jittery beat, buckets of distorted echo, and a sample of African chanting that creeps in slowly toward the end, and really ties it together. IMD's mix of the bittersweet ode to death "When I Die" is one of the album's highlights, combining pounding drums with vintage-sounding synthesizers, sounding more like Broadcast than Gonjasufi. Santiro Romeri's mix of "The Conspiracy" starts out with dramatic neo-folk guitar strumming, later acquiring percussion, melodica, and Ecks' familiar weary croak. Somehow this dark folk-rock rework makes more sense than it seems like it should, and it's one of the most refreshing tracks on the album. The album's final song is a collaboration with legendary Afro-beat drummer Tony Allen. Instead of trying to channel Fela, however, Ecks recalls Portishead (coming full circle with the Gibbons cover near the start of the album), but more warped and sinister, twisting Allen's drums backwards and sideways, and covering them with blown-out guitar. A few BBC Radiophonic Workshop-like tape experiment interludes provide thematic bridges at the beginning, middle, and end of the album. Mandela Effect is certainly more varied than Callus (which, like all Gonjasufi releases, is a heady mix of styles itself), and while it isn't exactly lighter or more listener-friendly, it often seems to get its messages across in more intriguing ways. ~ Paul Simpson