If you are familiar with Slok, you will know that Alessandro Russo produces some of the hippest ambient jungle tracks to come out of Europe. His 1997 release "They Call It Jungle" sounds like it's meant to be played while sipping martinis on the patio of some lounge in Milan on a cool summer afternoon. 2000's appropriately named "Freak 2000" had more of a breakbeat feel to it and was a bit more experimental. So you can imagine my curiosity when I saw Slok's latest track - "Lonely Child" - was being released on Saw Recordings on Tuesday, November 7, 2005.
"Lonely Child" is definitely not jungle or breakbeat. Russo has teamed up with French vocalist Eric Pasquereau to give us a track more fitting of a rock concert than a dance club. Don't get me wrong, it's a good track but that's it – it's just good. It has all "electro" elements that seem to be pushing dance music right now – the distorted synth sounds, the drum programming emulating a live drummer, the verse/chorus arrangement. However, it may have worked better if they had actually turned it into a rock track.
As is, it's formulaic and predictable, or as one of my friends put it, it's "dance programming by numbers." It has just enough "cool factor" to grab your attention on the first listen or two but after that, the novelty wears off. DJs will be sure to stick with the club mix; the instrumental mix is just the club mix sans vocals and unfortunately, without them, the track is not powerful enough to keep people on the dance floor.
The third mix, a downtempo version, wraps up the release with a smooth, atmospheric landscape. Many of the elements from the club mix are there and the underlying beat of the mix is the same as the original so it works well into any progressive set.
