- Sampling Elvis on your first release is a pretty risky move, but Masomenos seem to have gotten away with it on Le Poulet EP. But then these guys already run a clothes shop and an advertising agency, so why be fearful? Shards of Presley's poignant (shlocky?) ‘In The Ghetto’ are sprinkled over ‘Cotcot’, the first track on the French congolomerate's first EP. You don't get Elvis's full sad tale though, just a lip curled “ghetto" looped a few times and some short musical samples. Sounds awful, doesn't it? Amazingly, it's not. The string and choir samples are deftly used, fading in and out like snatches of an oldies radio show. In fact plenty of people probably won't even notice that it’s Elvis. As for the music, it's deep dubby house, a little like something you'd hear on Diynamic but without the drama. It's a pretty low key beginning for the label, but different enough to check out.
‘Giving’ featuring Chris Carrier is deeper still, with that cocooned single minded feel you get from a Cassy record. The whole track has a sleepy almost monotone feel to it, like a grey 6 a.m., but monotone need not be a criticism. It certainly isn't here.
Last up is a dub of ‘Giving’, which removes the vocal and is slightly tougher than the original, but it almost makes you want to use the word monotone as a criticism. It lacks the melody of the vocal version and is more of a tool, but without the snatches of light perhaps it's not as effective.
Still, this is one of those really likeable EPs, not particularly mindblowing but with two tracks from three that leap out and tell you Masomenos are trying to do something worthwhile. Check it out, and don't miss the wacky cover art!
TracklistA Masomenos - CotCot
B1 Masomenos - Giving (feat Chris Carrier)
B2 Masomenos - Giving (feat Chris Carrier - dub)