VA: Dublab presents In the Loop
Plug Research

On In the Loop 2, LA's Dublab crew drops five sweet tracks from major hitters Prefuse 73, Nobody, and Daedelus and Plug Researchers Build An Ark and Sa-Ra. With “Oh Linda, You Lit Up My Life With Your Voice and Made Me Fall In Love With You,” Scott Herren weighs in with a typical stunner though one oozing a slightly folkier vibe than usual (note: the track also appears under the title “Rain Edit Interlude” on Surrounded By Silence). Following a seductive intro of gentle guitar, Herren spews angelic female coos over trademark Prefuse hiccup, while Nobody's (Elvin Estela) “Apollonia Millenium and Her Private Parts Marching Band” drapes psychedelic harpsichord filigrees over a bombastic hip-hop groove to mesmerizing effect. Previously issued on The Quiet Party EP, Daedelus's “A Touch of Spring” then merges bubbling beats with scratchy electric guitar and salsa-soaked vocalizing to close out the side.

After this hip-hop triad, the disc takes a jazzier turn. Featuring a cosmic collective convened by Ammon Contact's Carlos Niño, Build An Ark's “Temple Jam” channels the exuberant spirit of a ‘60s soul-jazz jam. Following a synthesizer solo that would make Chick Corea blush, a stoked horn groove broils to increasingly impassioned heights. Closing out the set with a Sun Ra nod, Sa-Ra's fleeting “Spaceways Radio Theme” (the theme song from Niño's “Spaceways” LA radio program) marries hand-clapping swing with cosmic vocal exhortations. Despite the stylistic variety of its five pieces, the disc's common thread is the palpable jubilation that reigns throughout.

April 2005