Over two preceding albums, 2005′s Pure Breed Mongrel (Kitty-Yo) and 2007′s Blitz ‘N’ Ass (A-Sound), Berlin-based multinational trio Jahcoozi have generated a substantial global fanbase that’s seen them go on to collaborate with the likes of Modeselektor, Anti Pop Consortium and Buraka Som Sistema, whilst managing to adeptly balance elements of dub, dancehall and leftfield electro with an in-your-face attitude drawn more from hiphop and post-Digital Hardcore punk. Three years on, this third album Barefoot Wanderer, their first for Bpitch Control in many senses represents the trio’s most cohesive and smooth-sounding collection to date. It’s also an album that’s immediately obviously touched by the influence of dubstep – indeed the majority of the eleven tracks here writhe with a thick sub-bass presence, but while it certainly incorporates its sonic hallmarks it never really becomes subsumed into that particular sub-genre.
Smooth, swaggering tracks such as the loping, dub-bass driven opening title track see vocalist Sasha Perera sliding effortlessly into a honeyed style that’s far more characterised by ‘proper’ singing rather than the MC-tinged delivery of previous Jahcoozi albums – indeed, the almost dub-soul hewn ‘Barricaded’ sees her almost injecting a Bjork-esque chanteuse lilt at points. Rather than diluting proceedings though, it’s precisely this increased focus on vocal melodics that serves to bring the dark, bass-driven murk and snapping rhythms powering beneath to even more potent levels. It’s something that becomes particularly apparent throughout the numerous consistently inspired collaborations that appear here, with Anti Pop Consortium’s M. Sayyid’s harsher MC stylings proving to be the perfect rough foil to Perera’s teasing backing vocal harmonies on ‘Powerdown Blackout’. Elsewhere, Deadbeat’s ‘Stalker’ mix of ‘Watching You’ sees Perera’s disembodied sounding, delayed-out vocals flitting like a ghost in the machine through six minutes of woozy, narcotic-sounding digi-dub haze in what’s easily one of this album’s biggest highlights, while the biggest curveball here, a dubstep-flirtatious cover of The Cure’s ‘Close To Me’ even manages to throw some new feminine angles on the original without sliding into kitsch. The substantial Jahcoozi fanbase shouldn’t be disappointed with Barefoot Wanderer.
Chris Downton
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