Chateau Flight is a collaboration of two of Paris' most respected dance music producers.
I:Cube is familiar thanks to his now classic 'Disco Cubism', a track that prefigured the French invasion of filtered disco that has since made Daft Punk and Bob Sinclar household names in the UK.
Gilb'r has dabbled in a range of sounds, from off-centre deep house to drum 'n' bass, but is mostly known through Versatile, the left field French dance label he established.
Their collaboration was born through wide ranging re-mixes, including work for acts such as Air, Stardust and Femi Kuti, and their debut long player displays a diverse set of influences. "People think it's just a banging kick, but there's more" says I:Cube, "there's disco, funk, jazz - it's black music," adds Gilb'r.
Opening with the incidental down beat loop of 'Chato Flight Loves You', the album settles into the bass led break beat funk of 'Camping Jazz', a coffee table tune overlaid with Latin percussive chimes and abstract guitar and vibes. And this pretty much sets the pattern. 'Instant Replay' adds a dirty funk groove, 'Frontal Funk' raises the tempo, throwing a furious conga work out into the equation, pinned down by a smokey wah-wah bass line.
For the most part the emphasis is on drum patterns, with some tracks, such as 'Auto-Power', displaying a production technique that concentrates on creating interesting percussive lines, almost treating instruments and vocals as an after thought to create an oddly contradictory atmosphere of calm.
By the time 'Prism' drops into the set its straight kick drum intro feels refreshing. Naturally they use it as a bed for a minimal funk bass and surging congas, its moment of glory coming after the surrounding instrumentation has been stripped back allowing the percussion to breath.
The selection of sounds is at times spine tingling and frequently humorous; the vocal line on 'Bizarre' sounding like its been filtered through a bathroom sink.
Throughout the duo's dedication to their music is tempered by a sense of fun; creating the impression they experimented because someone, somewhere dared them not to. "You can not get away with that," said the guy behind a Parisian bar capping yet another bottle of Kronenbourg 1664. "Oh yes we can," piped-up the Chateau boys, flying back to their studio to prove the point.
Needless to say the man behind the bar is now spanking himself for having to work so hard, while I:Cube and Gilb'r are having a laugh drinking brown ale and creating cheeky masterpieces in their studio.
A cautionary tale for us all.
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