Filming

Description

Like Jazzanova's Compost label and Ninja Tune's finest acts, Oslo's Bugge Wesseltoft is a man intent on reviving jazz's spirit of adventure. Film'Ing does exactly that. As the title suggests, this time Wesseltoft's using his love of vintage sounds and high-tech toys to create an album of cinematic moods; this is a wise choice given that Wesseltoft's true talent isn't so much his mixing of club culture and jazz as his phenomenal sense of drama. Every track oozes widescreen atmosphere. "Hi Is?" is a frantic funk shimmy, primed and ready for a chase sequence. The sophisticated slink of "Skog" is a penthouse view of the city. The clattering pulse and desolate synths of "Hope" are a midnight drive across town and the chilling "Indie" is a disturbing detour down a dark alley. The muted click track, brooding double bass and soprano sax slurs of "El" and the eerie disembodied computer blips of "Piano" would be equally at home in a trendy east London bar and a taut psychological thriller. Creating ambient music with soul and presence is a hard trick to pull off, but Wesseltoft makes it sound so easy. --Dan Gennoe