KURIOUS
Majician
(Metalface Records)
The cynic in me knows it would be easy to dismiss this album as being a soundalike, cast it aside, give it 3 stars for existing and move swiftly along. But within moments of the album opening it’s clear that this piece isn’t derivative. What we're hearing here is familiarity, Kurious has been collaborating with the greats for over thirty years, even if you've skipped past his solo offerings in the past - chances are you’ll have encountered his work, you know this voice, this particular pattern of words, but - maybe you just didn't take note of the name or give credit where it was due?
Whilst I resist the urge to take a deep dive through the past three decades and throw tracks at everyone, with a pointed “see, I told you” I can’t ignore the name that does crop up, over and over and over. MF DOOM. Does Majician sound straight out of the DOOM archives? Sure, why is that? I can’t say for certain but I’m prepared to guess their history plays a large part in things. You see when someone describes DOOM as their creative partner, you can’t help but sit up and listen, and when the executive producer credit falls to that late great master, it becomes clear very fast why MF DOOM can be felt all over this album.
This is not a lazy homage, this was their last collaboration, and it seems only right that it should be released on Metalface records. The production quality is unreasonably high, this flows as smoothly and naturally as a single take solo recording despite being an intricately constructed amalgamation of sounds, samples and vocals, it takes time, patience and talent in spades to achieve tracks that deliver so much whilst being an effortless listen, or at least - a listen that doesn’t have you caught on a hook, and stepping over to whosampled to figure out where something came from and who else has used that track. From the opening moments of Unknown Species through to the closing bars of Come Back we are treated to an album that sounds like a window has been opened to a (certainly my) golden age of Hip-hop, there is an energy and life to this album that bounces like memories of a halcyon summer gone by whilst sounding like it belongs firmly in the here and now, all at once showing what can be and a signposted reminder of where things came from.
In an ideal world we’ll remember Kurious as one of the greats, and Majician will sit on that hallowed shelf, alongside Doomsday, Donuts, Entroducing & Modal Soul. For now, this is an album well worth hearing, and if you’re short of time - Barry Gibb is a stand out track.
