Lulu Rouge
Bless You

The Lulu Rouge hail from Denmark, a project with a promising future considering their dazzling debut Bless You (2008), one of the most interesting releases of recent years. Backed by the now famous fellow countryman Trentemøller (his influence is definitely felt), the Copenhagen duo has conceived an impressive hybrid between atmospheric and reverberated minimal techno (quite similar to that of The Last Resort), '90s trip hop, with dub and psychedelic influences, all wrapped in a suggestive dark-tinted setting, excellently represented by the dramatic cover.

Dj Tom and Buda navigate through alienating synths, rigorously 4/4 rhythms, and enveloping vocals buried under a massive use of reverbs, delays, and dissonances that blend well with the typically techno dry kicks and the pulsing basslines, mainly tb303 or low dub ones. The coexistence of these elements contributes to creating a gloomy yet dreamy and travel-inducing atmosphere (easily noticeable in the title track), forging a record with slow and mental tones that almost never exceeds the 120 bpm threshold, often approaching Northern European ambient/chill out territories ("Slow Pigeon"), trip hop ("End Of The Century" reminiscent of Massive Attack's Inertia Creeps) or the darker deep house ("Sweeter Than Sweet"), without, it should be emphasized, ever falling into the clichés of the latter.

Among the vocalists, who play an essential role, stand out the Swede Alice Carreri, who on more than one occasion adds real value to the project, and the Dane Mikael Simpson, who help shape with quality interpretations the 10 tracks, all very valid and suitable for both club and listening contexts. 

The effects are very refined, the arrangements layered and psychedelic by the genre's standards, with many technical acrobatics, especially on vocals and grooves. There's no lack of variety: ranging from the strings of "Melankoli" with that pulsating beat on which Alice's hypnotic singing fits perfectly, to the almost industrial sounds of "Lulu's Theme", (an instrumental with a menacing sound, featuring a very inspired Trentemøller) and the very slow "Thinking Of You", (with almost gothic accompaniments enriched by numerous glitches and a spectacular violin pause). The original dub elements in "Pitch Black" and "Runaway Boy" also include unusual folk inserts, like the sleepy accordion riff. But it's just one of many interesting ideas on the album: there are also meetings with Tibetan mantras and didgeridoo, which, although placed in seemingly inappropriate contexts, never risk appearing out of place.

This tendency to associate opposing things more than once is clearly illustrated by the stunning "Ninna Nanna", as expected sung in Italian (and quite clean by Carreri who is once again magnificent), which takes the well-known nursery rhyme and turns its cheerful, childlike essence into a brilliant dark crescendo with a decadent and narcotic atmosphere. Surely the most interesting point of the work, although it is truly hard to find weak points in these 50 minutes so perfect.

This is a truly successful and revolutionary record, at times brilliant. A gem that deserves the attention it commands and once again confirms the Scandinavian electronic scene's remarkable worthiness. At this point, all that remains is to wait for the follow-up.