Thunderball
Scorpio Rising

Scorpio Rising, the soundtrack of the eponymous film. Honestly, I haven't had the pleasure (?) of watching the film, but one thing I'm sure of: judging by the work Thunderball did for the soundtrack, they'll likely receive many more requests from various film producers.

The duo consists of Sid Barcelona and Steve Raskin, who have been working and producing for ESL Music over the past six years, the same record label as Thievery Corporation. Like the latter, they aim for a fusion sound of different genres, to create something ever fresher and catchier while also "challenging" those convinced that music that is not easily classifiable and is fusion (especially where bossa is present) is only and always Chill-out (how this overly globalizing term annoys me).

The duo's favorite elements for crafting their sacred mixtures are predominantly Funk, dub, bossa, drum & bass, and even orchestral arrangements typical of the 70s cinematic sound, where time is just an additional element that varies depending on the "flavor" they want to give a track.
The eleven gems of this album (with none as filler or just to bulk it up), very rhythmic and engaging, are a pleasure for the senses and aim for a surprising organic unity between the various elements (melody, rhythm, and lyrics, when there are any), making the album very homogeneous, despite being composed of strong individualism of the single tracks.

There's not much left to say, except that I immediately fell in love with this album, too accessible and catchy from the very first listen, so much so that those who see Chill-Out everywhere, or those who insist on a "difficult" sound to listen to, might accuse it of superficiality... but I can assure you that's not the case.

Do you want to please the senses or rather prefer to dance? Maybe both? Well, I believe Scorpio Rising is the album for you.