- Because it features 24 snippets of tracks segued together into one hour long set, there are two ways of looking at I:Cube's new album. One—for the optimists—is that Nicolas Chaix is attempting to capture the energy of a live set in the studio by honing his music down to its most effective components. The other view is that this is a bunch of tracks he couldn't be arsed to finish properly.
Anyone au fait with the Frenchman's productions over the years—from the tracks like "Disco Cubizm" he released on the coattails of Daft Punk during the '90s to the recent warped disco of "Lucifer En Discotheque"—will know that Chaix has no trouble crafting a killer 12-inch. But it's also the case that his albums (1999's Adore and 2003's 3) ranged broadly across bumping house to deep techno—and contained a fair few fillers as a result. 'M' Megamix is no different in that sense, it's just that here the duller tracks are over before you've had a chance to get bored and the better moments don't quite last long enough.
All of this makes 'M' Megamix a rather bumpy ride. The way Chaix switches between styles after rarely more than three minutes can feel like you're being forcibly frog-marched through a club of 24 different rooms. Just settling into the galactic techno groove of "Transparent Sea Creatures"? Welcome to the clanging old-school rave stabs of "Transpiration." But while it may never stop long in one place, 'M' Megamix has more moments that'll leave you wanting more rather than the opposite.
The Balearic beats of "In Alpha" are as good as DJ Harvey's Locussolus album could have been, the disco cut-ups of "Y.O.U.R.O.C.K" shows he still has the classic French touch, "Omamo" sees "Sueno Latino"-style melodies fluttering over techy beats and when "Lucifer En Discotheque" rears its head towards the finale it still sounds as epic as Lindstrom. 'M' Megamix ends with the sound of pouring rain while a piano breakdown fades away into the distance as if the doors to the club have finally shut. You can't help but think, though, that this is one venue that would open again for just one more tune.
トラックリスト 01. Not Important
02. Bajo Bajo
03. Grotto
04. Your Brain
05. Transparent Sea Creatures
06. Transpiration
07. Zero Tastatur
08. In Alpha
09. Interludio
10. Y.O.U.R.O.C.K
11. Get the Fever
12. Cadence Iii
13. Jah Menta
14. Makossa Suspens
15. N'dololo X M
16. Magnetic Mambo
17. Omamo
18. Club Miniature
19. Le Rocher Aux Singes
20. Déflation
21. Popular Electronics
22. Too Old for This
23. Lucifer En Discothèque
24. Sh 50 Storm