Wax Tailor – Hope And Sorrow LP [Decon]

Wax Tailor, aka JC le Saout, made a remarkable impact worldwide with his debut ‘Tales of the Forgotten Melodies’. A sweeping, cinematic hip-hop album that had critics citing similarities to DJ Shadow and RJD2. ‘Tales…’ propelled this Frenchman to stardom in his home country (notching up 60,000 home sales) and his debut was heralded as Radio Nova's album of the year.

Stateside, ‘Tales…’ has spent 100 straight weeks in the iTunes Top Electronic Albums and remains there to date (currently #66). The album topped the CMJ Hip Hop and RPM charts (16 and 13 weeks in the top 20, respectively) and tastemaker radio station, KEXP in Seattle, deemed it one of the best albums of 2006. The breakout single ‘Our Dance’ was heralded as one of the best singles of the year in Playboy Magazine as well as iTunes. Wax also DJ’d at last year’s 60th Cannes Film Festival.

Call it downtempo, trip hop or IDM, I don't care, this and Wax Tailor's other album, Tales of the Forgotten Melodies both truly show how electronic music can have soul and at the same time push the boundaries of music.

An artist's second album is often seen as the moment of truth. With ‘Hope & Sorrow’, set for release this June, Wax Tailor confirms his musical identity. Often categorized as trip-hop or downtempo hip-hop, Wax Tailor breaks musical barriers using a sonic palette to demonstrate his life chronicles tainted in soul, jazz, and funk. There's no weaknesses here at all, each track has its own vibe, and all the guest vocals are strong. In fact that's one thing that sets this apart from Tailor's debut; his choice of vocals, with more than a few tracks featuring female singers, perfectly compliment the music.

If you're a fan of instrumental hip hop in the vein of RJD2, DJ Shadow, DJ Krush, etc., this is a must have. But Wax Tailor has a sound all his own that you can only get a feel for by listening, not comparing, so check it for yourself.

Out 2nd June 2008 on Decon.

You Tube Links:
Positively Inclined: http://youtube.com/watch?v=muq50a286I8
To Dry Up: http://youtube.com/watch?v=BTkkZndKqdk

• http://www.waxtailor.com
• http://www.myspace.com/waxtailor
• http://www.youtube.com/thewaxtailor
• http://www.last.fm/music/Wax+Tailor

Track List:

01. Once Upon A Past
02. The Way We Lived ft. Sharon Jones
03. The Games You Play ft. Voice
04. The Tune
05. The Man With No Soul ft. Charlotte Savary
06. Radio Broadcast
07. Positively Inclined ft. ASM & Marina Quaisse
08. Sometimes
09. House Of Wax ft. The Others
10. Beyond Words
11. To Dry Up ft. Charlotte Savary
12. We Be ft. Ursula Rucker
13. That Case
14. There Is Danger
15. Alien In My Belly ft. Charlotte Savary