Vainqueur - Ranges

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  • In 1962 Jack Kerouac found his way to the house of Lawrence Ferlinghetti, owner of San Francisco's famous City Lights Books, in Big Sur, California to escape fame and alcoholism. Perched on the cliffs at night, he became obsessed with "wavespeak," the voices and sounds he heard in the waves crashing upon the rocks that later became the inspiration for a novel and poem. Dub techno stalwart Rene Lowe appears to have synthesised the same essence and inspiration here on the two versions of "Ranges." Beginning tentatively with gentle ebbs, much like Lowe's "Faith," the expanded version soon surges into an off-beat stream held down by the ever-present underwater kick drum and salty hi-hats. The melody line is confident, lending the track a rare and playful optimism, but the splashing, shooting and fizzing synths is what leaves a mark. Crashing repeatedly over the lower frequencies in ever variable patterns, they sound distinctly like Kerouac's waves breaking on rocks and exploding into rushes of chilly spray and spume in the moonlight. The theme take doesn't work quite as well. With an even greater emphasis on the chugging off-beat, the waves struggle to fly as if held down on a calmer sea. The restless undertow and heavy repetition, however, gradually assume control as the waves continue to roll in on the rising tide.
  • Tracklist
      A Ranges (Expanded) B Ranges (Theme)
RA