Lidell's music draws from a wide range of styles
By Chris Nixon
For The San Diego Union-Tribune
April 10, 2006
Bubblegum Motown. Parliament's space funk. 1980s R&B crooners. Dance-floor electronica. From a dusty Southern shack to the flashy discos of New York City, funk and soul shifts to fit the times.
Amazingly, a 32-year-old English native turned German resident captures the spectrum of soul all on one album, skipping easily from classic Marvin Gaye-inspired soul songs to dance tracks informed by modern club music.
Meet Jamie Lidell. His 2005 release “Multiply” effortlessly encapsulates the history of soul and funk in his sprawling set of 10 tunes. Lidell cites funk and soul as inspirations, but also “noise, jazz, blues, techno, house, glam, dirtcore, unterbeat, the big ole pop, the lesser known pitch touch, rock 'n' rules, the hop, the fug, all that.”
From the subtle soul of “Games of Fools” (in which Lidell sounds like a young Sam Cooke) to the Rick James-esque “When I Come Around” (complete with hand claps and 1980s keyboards), the disc covers a dizzying array of song styles but manages to hold to together as a complete whole.
“Either I must have many sides or no core or just a lot of shades to my shadow,” mused Lidell from his home in Berlin.
The recording process for “Multiply” took the multi-instrumentalist three years, with sessions taking place mostly at his home studio. Lidell worked primarily with producer-musician-DJ Mocky (aka Dominic Salole), along with an occasional live drummer to fill out the sound.
“It unfolded like a book: one of those fat phone books,” said Lidell about the process behind “Multiply.” “The studio is a weird place for me, but I try to let out what's brewing. I see it as a form of sonic sweat. Sometimes it'll smell sweet, sometimes funky – but it's gotta come out when it gets hot.”
In his solo live shows, Liddell utilizes technology to layer his vocals and keyboard parts. But don't expect him to hide behind a laptop when he starts his latest American tour tonight in San Diego. A Jamie Lidell concert is singing, dancing and performance art all wrapped into one: “When I play live, I try and just let the music flood out like tea from a bag.”
When asked about the Casbah gig, Lidell said, “I will attempt to stop time. It's a risky game, but if you wanna be there, we could make it last forever.”
Enough said.
Chris Nixon is a San Diego music writer.
