Fauna Flash

Very few terms in the lexicon of music-journo speak raise a doubtful eyebrow as quickly or fiercely as that of "fusion." Often conjuring up memories of putrid jazz collaborations or frightening prog rock experiments, "fusion" is generally examined from a distance, like last week’s lunch. Not so this time around, here the brave German duo of Roland Appel and Christian Prommer step up to produce a mighty tasty, appropriately titled treat. As drummers and core members of both the Trüby Trio (with Rainer Trüby) and Voom Voom (with Peter Kruder), these guys are no strangers to experimenting with and merging a number of sounds and styles. They’ve taken their drum & bass roots to the next level with this album however, leaving earlier Fauna Flash releases in the dust. Fusion is aimed directly at the dance floor, but the arrow is far from straight. "Mother Nature," a thick, dripping and tripping slice of electro-dub, featuring Viennese vocalist Sugar B, is a great introduction to an album that moves successfully from jazz and drum & bass to house, funk, breakbeat and back again. The slinky, sexy and ironically giddy "Alone Again" seats ’70s disco next to nu house. "Ten" is a true schooling in contemporary dance music; it breaks, it boogies, it builds and commands all to shake our bodies down to the ground. Here, Fauna Flash has also created some of the strongest drum & bass tracks I’ve heard in some time. "Free" is pretty, jazzy and sumptuous, merging the feel of mid-’90s jungle classics with fresh, sweet bass drops, kicking percussion and a smattering of disco strings. Things get slightly darker during "Morning," where vocalist Marzenka simultaneously channels Grace Jones, Macy Gray and Leonie Laws over the rough riddims of this slow cooker. Trust the Compost camp to make fusion feel good.