Songs (Click the -icons for some small realaudio-samples)
 
1. Love You
2. A Sin So Nasty
3. Mary Go Round
4. Freeze
5. Lampshade
6. Voodoo Sim
7. Piano Dub
8. A Rain Song
9. Fred is Dread
10. A Radical Chinese Duke
11. Life Transmission
12. King of the Garlic
13. More Lost Souls

Songs:
DAAU
Lyrics:
Ya Kid K, Angélique Willkie

Musicians:
- Buni Lenski (violin, clarinet)
- Han Stubbe (programming, clarinet)
- Simon Lenski (cello, vocals)
- Roel van Camp (accordion)
- Adrian Lenski (piano, organ)
Guest-musicians:
- Ya Kid K (rap)
- Big Beek band - Sarah Vermeyen, Liesbet Driegelinck, Boenox, Marc Goris, Tobe Wouters, Wietse Beels, Eva Van Riet, Thomas de Smet, Els van Kriekelsvenne)
- Angélique Willkie (vocals)
- Fred Scheldaap (vocals)

Produced by dAAU en Phil Evans
Recorded in the DAAU home studio

Artwork : Topfloor
Photo's : Sarah Vermeyen
 

My opinion :

On their third CD "Life Transmission", DAAU (Die Anarchistische Abendunterhaltung) have stepped in so many sidepaths as there are tracks on the album. And despite the fact that such an option could have lead to a cacaphony and a lack of style or direction, that is not the result of this choice: "Life Transmission" has become a magic ball, with as many colours as the average child has crayons, with a number of daring experiments that end up well, and with an instrumentarium nowhere near to the limits of the classical orchestra the band was at it's beginnings.
"Life Transmission" has become a "Life Injection" for DAAU. For it released the band of the doubts that had arisen surrounding the album "We Need New Animals" (sometimes referred to as "We Don't Need This Kind of Shit" - but that's an opinion I don't share). But also it gave the band a new injection of talent in the person of Adrian Lenski (brother of two of the other members, who recently graduated from the conservatorium and was promptly seduced by his family to go a bit of the way with them), who is very emphatically omnipresent with his piano.
In this way, the Anarchists take you from an irresistable dub in "Piano dub" to an obnoxious rap on "Mary Go Round", from wild beats on "Life Transmission" (even including a Daft Punk-ish guitar solo) to somber melancholic moods on the fascinating "A Rain song" or closing track "More Lost Souls", from arousing percussion on "A Sin So Nasty" to held-back quasi-jazz on "Freeze". Only occasionaly there's a reminder of the acoustic acrobatics of their debut ("Lampshade", "A Radical Chinese Duke", "King of the garlic"). In this way, it's hardly possible to put on the album twice in a row, and still get touched by the same songs twice. The only constants for me were "Piano dub" and "A Rain Song" - which I hereby declare to be the best songs on the CD.
Although "Life Transmission" is going to figure very high on my list of favourite albums for the year 2001, it still remains a fact that "DAAU and CD's" still isn't just as happy a marriage as "DAAU and the podium" is (The performanced they gave after this album from TMF to Switserlands were more than excellent). After a number of spins, a few of the passages start to hinder, come in the way of the moods that other songs build up ... something they can better take care of on stage.
DAAU proves to be the best kind of band: one that knows how te rejuvenate itself constantly, and keeps us surprised with each new move. As long as they keep this feature and maintain their drive, DAAU is a band each and every musiclover should follow from very nearby. "Life Transmission" is a compulsory subject for whoever wants to live up to this pleasant duty.

And your opinion? Did I get it all wrong, or was I spot-on ? Do you want to share your opinion about this cd ? Send it in ... Your name or nick Your e-mail : Your opinion:

This album in the press :

- Reinout Vangeel voor Uptomusic : "Op hun derde langspeler 'Life Transmission' ... uit die eigentijdse aanpak zich door een infuus van dub, hiphop en andere dansbare geluiden. De combinatie lijkt weinig voor de hand liggend, maar ze werkt uitstekend en is daarom des te verrassender ... 'Life Transmission' is een plaatje om te koesteren. Meer van dat!"
- Bram Beeck voor Rif-Raf (ned. editie) : "... Life Transmission is dankijk al die variatie DAAU's meest toegankelijke plaat geworden. Minder sober dan de vorige twee en nog even intens. het universum van DAAU is grillig, ontroerend en verrassend. Je kan er in verdwalen..."
- Laurence Dierickx in Rif-Raf (ed. fr.) : "En s'ouvrant sur tant de nouvaux horizons - tout en étant restés eux-mêmes dans leur art de composer des ambiances, de créer la tension, de faire glisser les notes- ils semblent avoir gagné en maturité."
- Peter van Dyck in Knack (Focus) : "DAAU boort zo een luchtiger en poppier geluid aan, zonder de warmte en de diepgang te verliezen. Zie de spankracht van Radical Chinese Duke en het titelnummer. Nieuwe rekruut, pianist en arrangeur Adrian Lenski, stuwt de groep vooruit. ... Life Transmission staat voor de zigeunermuziek van de toekomst. Met de power van rock'n'roll en dance."
- JDR in The Ticket : "Avec 'Life Transmission'DAAU a véritablement fait un énorme pas en avant. Nos anarchistes flânent gaiement entre musique techno- tzigane, pop guillerette, dub-reggae lent et hip-hop sans jamais se perdre aux détours de ces chemins. ... L'électronique, dont la présence est prééminente, fait s'envoler l’ensemble vers les plus hautes altitudes. Serait-ce l'album de la grande percée ? Nous le leur souhaitons"
- mvs in Mao-magazine : "Opdat tijdens de opnamen alleen de creativiteit het voor het zeggen zou hebben - in het geval van een passioneel en virtuoos gezelschap als de Anarchisten een uitstekende zaak - ging de groep ook maar meteen zonder producer aan de slag. Het resultaat is een rijke, gevarieerde en avontuurlijke plaat, met voorsprong de beste die ze tot nog toe hebben gemaakt: speels waar nodig, statig en majestueus als het moet, en altijd even meeslepend. ... Zonder aarzelen in huis halen."
- Rob Musters in BN/De Stem : "Goede kunstenaars blijven hun publiek steeds een stap voor, maar DAAU is op deze cd het spoor bijster en dwaalt alle kanten op. De vermenging van genres als rock, dub-reggae, dance, folk, pop en klassiek klinkt eerder krampachtig dan flexibel. Met de toevoeging van breakbeats, elektronica en zangeres Ya Kid K in Sin So Nasty degradeert DAAU zichzelf tot een begeleidend strijkje dat door een middelmatige hitformatie is ingehuurd. Alles wat de Vlamingen van de rest van het popveld onderscheidde is weggedrukt in de marge. Aangezien ze daar geen goede popnummers of spannende composities tegenoverstellen hoeft deze muzikale collage wat mij betreft niet ingelijst te worden."

Did you encounter a good (or bad) review somewhere? Send it in !
 

Where to buy this CD ?

You can order this CD from a number of locations (prices researched on September 20, 2001, but nothing guarantees they still are the same when you read this).

Shop	Price of the CD	Shipping + other expenses	Total	Direct Link
Azur	866	20	886 Bef.
Proxis	794	0	794 Bef.	Proxis
Atrecordings	--	3$	--
Netbeat	--	2,77 euro	--

The lowest price is in yellow, the highest in red. This price comparison doesn't take things into account like deduction of shipping expenses when ordering more than 1 cd, bonus points, differences in guarantees ... Shipping prices are those for customers in Belgium.

Have you seen this record elsewhere on the net, do you own an online-CD-shop with Belgian products in it, or if there's something wrong with my calculations : let me know.
 

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