“Nu Cultures” A One K Mix Collection

Various (1K)

Tim Motzer is one of those artists who is better known and respected as a musician on a global scale than he is here on his home turf. Locally (in
Philadelphia) we’ve seen Tim strum his guitar on stage at the Theatre of the Living Arts as part of the Silk 130 Tour (which King Britt brought with the
release of “When The Funk Hits the Fan”). He’s also provided music to the Afro-French duo Les Nubians and countless other acts. Back in the day, Motzer jammed with a combo called the Jazzheads.

“Nu Cultures” is an amalgamation of Motzer’s musical interests. An extensive repertoire of forward thinking sound, the tracks on “Nu Cultures” span tastes. Steeped in jazz, Motzer and company extend their sonic reach into experimental
ambient glitchiness.

There are some very beautiful tracks on this mix (which, mind you isn’t like a deejay mix tape) including “Remember” and the openingtrack, “Free My Mind” which feature the vocals of Ellie Perez.

Motzer’s influence reaches across a funky Philadelphia musical underground that values talent and innovation more than commercialism. Various incarnations of Motzer-influenced acts are featured: Jazzheads, Fractured Reverb Underground, Global Illage along with Perez and vocalist Barry Meehan take turns entertaining us. There are several other musicians pumping their talent through this CD as well.

If you’re a fan of Compost Records artists, or any progressive German or underground French labels, you’ll find “Nu Cultures” to be right up your alley.
I am not a big fan of the glitch track, but the rest of the disc is so stellar you can easily overlook it.

kc bajai – audiogliphix magazine february 2003