DNA

3,000万枚のセールスを誇る仏エレクトロ界のマエストロ=セローン、約4年ぶりとなるフル・アルバム!

自身キャリア史上初となる全編インストゥルメンタル!

フランス音楽界において最もサンプリングされたアーティストというセローン、ディスコ全盛期に多大な影響を与えたパイオニアが自身のルーツに戻って制作した全編インストゥルメンタルの作品。

As of 2020, disco pioneer Marc Cerrone has been professionally making and performing music for nearly 50 years. His vast discography, spanning dozens of albums, has included Afro-beat-influenced funk, suspenseful soundtracks, adult contemporary pop, and French house. He will always be revered for his influential early solo albums, however, particularly the 1977 classic Supernature, which had an almost progressive rock-style sci-fi concept involving scientist-created mutants rebelling against humankind. While much of his later output is more populist, aiming at the radio or dance clubs, DNA is a more socially conscious, exploratory epic that recalls the space-disco subgenre more than any of Cerrones past work. Unlike the guest-heavy 2016 effort Red Lips, this album was recorded entirely by Cerrone himself, and while it does feature his own vocoderized singing on some tracks, these are not pop songs in the slightest. Opening piece The Impact incorporates samples of the ethnologist Jane Goodall, reflecting on humanitys relationship with the planet. Instrumentals such as Resolution and Air Dreaming contain haunting melodies, propulsive drumming (played by Cerrone himself, rather than programmed on a grid), and starry synth arpeggios. The sensation of cruising through space is elevated by Ive Got a Rocket, which seems like a more interstellar variation on Cerrones 1978 track Rocket in the Pocket, with a sprinkling of Man-Machine-era Kraftwerk. The album slows down towards the end, suggesting that weve ventured far enough into the galaxy that we can cool the jets and float around for a while. Close to the Sky is a romantic soundtrack for a slow dance among the stars, and the dramatic finale Prediction sounds like the period leading up to facing ones own destiny. Showing all the bedroom synthwave geeks how its done right, DNA is a remarkable effort, and easily the most exciting Cerrone album in ages. ~ Paul Simpson

後進たちを従えたゴージャスな『Red Lips』で自身の功績を改めて提示して以降は、カイリーのリミックスなども手掛けていたディスコ・レジェンドだが、4年ぶりのアルバムは初めて全編がインスト仕立てに。代表曲"Supernature"同様に地球環境の危機を訴える"The Impact"、往年のジョルジオ・モロダーっぽい"Resolution"など、いずれの楽曲もシリアスな緊迫感を伝えてくる。メッセージをストイックな機能性に託した意欲作。
bounce (C)轟ひろみ