It’s not common that a compilation album is also a concept album. As such, ‘Body of Songs’ is a rather unusual proposition, pitched as ‘a groundbreaking music and science experiment that brings together Britain's most talented musicians to create a remarkable collection of songs, inspired by our inner workings; the mysterious organs of the body.’
The roll-call of contributors is impressive, not least of all for the Mercury-shortlisted Ghostpoet, alongside Bat For Lashes, Mara Carlyle & Max De Wardener and Afrikan Boy.
Andreya Triana’s ‘Branches of Life’ makes for a soulful start, but one that’s slightly at odds with much of the other material in its apparent commercialism. The atmospheric ‘Grateful Heart’ by Dave Okumu may be a rather literal interpretation of the organ it relates to in terms of its pulsating rhythm, but it’s a uplifting and subtly experimental piece.
The downtempo, crunching post-apocalyptic hip-hop of ‘Eje Aiye’ by Afrikan Boy Featuring Bumi Thomas and Adio is as compelling as it is bleak, and while I’m not sold on the easy listening grandad music croon of Sam Lee’s ‘Nose Song’, it would be wrong to dismiss it out of hand: the diversity of this album is one of its great strengths.
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That said, there’s a definite leaning toward the urban, and the 80s hip-hop stylings of ‘Play, Pause & Rewind’ by Scrufizzer X Utters jars somewhat, as much because it’s hard to see exactly how it fits with the theme as because it sounds horribly dated.
Still, Bat For Lashes’ ‘Skin Song’ is worth the purchase alone. A beautifully haunting and evocative song, murky and translucent, and similarly, Goldie’s contribution, the eight-minute ‘Electric Abyss’, while a frenetically beat-driven old-school drum’n’bass affair, reaches unexpected parts and proves to be one of the album’s highlights.
Body of Songs Online
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