Chinese Man
Racing With The Sun

Summer 2012

Let's be honest, after a debut like this, “Summer 2012”, one might think "oh my, what is he going to tell us now?"

No? Well, maybe that's for the best, since there's nothing to tell, my summer was not a success at all, just swarms of mosquitoes and an unbearable heat-annoying people combo…

… but amidst the repeated sighs and curses, a hot August evening, at the house of a trusted friend, I happen to notice something in the background, and it’s not the mosquitoes or the constant ambulances (those who live next to a hospital... will understand!), but something that makes me move..

..”and how strange, I who am usually more accustomed to intimate, introspective music, and let's admit it, a bit of a mirror of the many dark periods that (a little for all of us) mercilessly grind down time.”

But the Chinese Man makes me move! It amuses me, maybe it doesn't give me happiness, but it strikes, and who knows, perhaps it is precisely the strong oriental influence in his music (could make even your grandma dance in her wheelchair) that allows my repressed positivity to gush into rhythmic head movements to the music itself.

From the pure dub of “One Past” to the crazy “Get Up!” (highly recommended the video on YouTube), from the trip hop of the refined “Miss Chang” to the more Indian-inspired “J.O.G.J.A.” and “If You Please” (by far the best tracks of the 2011 branded album), the crew from Marseille proves they know what they’re doing with turntables, showcasing their talent by producing a colorful, heterogeneous album that is at the same time linear in its enjoyability.

Indeed, it remains music exclusively for moments of revelry, of euphoria when perhaps driving to a place we like, or as background music during sultry evenings spent on a terrace talking, but those like me who taste a bit of everything from the vast planet that is music will certainly appreciate the various facets this album presents.

And who knows, maybe not everything about this summer has to be thrown away..