Enetronic. com
Club d’Elf
As Above (Live at the Lizard Lounge)
(Grapeshot Media/Live Archive)
Club d`Elf, for those of you who’ve never heard of them, is a live electro/rock/jazz outfit from Massachusetts fronted by veteran bassist Mike Rivard. These guys effortlessly blend dub, jazz, funk, reggae, and world music, with all genres of electronica to form a truly original sound. And they do it all live! Their debut double-CD, As Above (Live at The Lizard Lounge), is a brilliant piece of free-form fusion containing performances by a giant cast of talented musicians including Duke Levine on guitar, Kenwood Dennard on drums, and DJ Logic cutting the wax, among others. All of the songs on this double album, and there are tons, really groove. It`s like Greyboy All-Stars meets Medeski, Martin, and Wood with a little pinch of Phish thrown in for good measure. Songs like “Left Hand of Clyde” and “Last Business” show off their jazzy side, while “Shadow`s Shift” and “So Below” have a real electronic feel to them. This isn`t an album that can be explained though; it has to be experienced first hand. There`s too much stuff going on to describe it all. All I can say is that I was blown away by the cohesiveness of this unit. Playing with guest musicians, especially this many of them, can sometimes get a little jumbled, but these guys pull it off without a hitch. As far as I`m concerned, this is the future of music. Check out this album, and check them out on tour when they come to your town—you won`t be disappointed.
