When an artist you've never heard of is said to have sold "over 10 million records worldwide," it's usually time to turn off the TV and go to bed. But when the artist in question has managed to get
Trilok Gurtu,
Bill Laswell, and
Nitin Sawhney to help him out with his sophomore effort, then it's a fair bet you're dealing with someone more interesting than
Richard Clayderman.
Robert Miles (a transplanted Swiss-Italian whose real name is
Roberto Concina) is credited with keyboards and programming throughout
Organik, the mood of which is pretty consistently dark and downtempo. There are hints of tribal/trance exotica on "Separation," while the uncredited female singer interacts nicely with
Dhruba Ghosh's sarangi on "Paths" to create a sort of bhangrafied trip-hop.
Laswell contributes fretless bass on the melodically enticing but still slightly creepy "Release Me" and on two improvisations, both of them just as creepy without being as melodically enticing. Overall, the program will appeal greatly to texture freaks, those with a taste for the unnervingly exotic, and those who generally enjoy anything
Laswell gets involved with. ~ Rick Anderson