Herbert - Harmonise/ Movers & Shakers

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4...according to our Ant on Sun 19 Nov, 2006.

'Harmonise' is the new one from the prolific Matthew Herbert. Strange intricate percussion lay the foundations for the groove while flutes creep in and out and a chirpy little synth riff carry the track along. Dani Siciliano's vocals are really pretty and work well with the playful childlike melodies. In fact the sound is not dissimilar to the Psapp album that's in this week. You get an accapella too incase you hate the music or want to be adventurous on the wheels of steel. The flip 'The Movers And The Shakers' has a stomping snare with some horns and a kind of sleazy funk groove. You get an instrumental and an accapella on there too. All bases covered, you cant lose. This wax is courtesy of Accidental. Woo-hoo! A fly...Gulp, munch, belch. 12" only

One of the most inventive, prolific and highly acclaimed figures on the electronic music scene, Matthew Herbert releases a new single "Harmonise/The Mover And The Shakers" on May 22nd.

'The Movers And The Shakers' could almost serve as a sonic summary of Herbert's career to date in its hyper-infectious fusion of futuristic Jazz, orchestral electronica and deceptively barbed lyrics. Syncopation, sophistication and subversion in one seductively rich package. The original version is graced with slinky vocals by chanteuse Dani Siciliano, Herbert's frequent partner and collaborator, alongside
guest singer Neil Thomas. The single also contains two further versions that divide music from voice, one a graceful a capella reading, the other a lush and bustling instrumental. Meanwhile, 'Harmonise' is a pert and perky blast of attention-grabbing pop-jazz-tronica. Siciliano again provides silken vocals on both the original and a
capella versions. The original versions of both tracks appear on Herbert's new album 'Scale', the smoothest blending so far of his widescreen pop sensibilities and his uncompromising avant-garde leanings. The album's underlying themes may be global inequality and the end of the oil age, but it still intoxicates the listener
with its potent cocktail of sweet melodies and sensual rhythms.
"This record was designed to be more of a celebration," says Herbert. "The task I set myself was really just to revisit my song side, to try and do these songs in an interesting way but ultimately to just enjoy the melodies and harmonies."

With "Harmonise / The Movers And The Shakers", Britain's most inventive electronic alchemist once again stakes his claim as a maestro of sublime left-field pop.
Yet more proof, if proof were needed, that he is not just any old Herbert.

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