ALBUM REVIEW – as written for the Jackson Hole Weekly.
Artist Group: C2C
Album: TETRA
Release date: September 3, 2012
After 15 years together, French turntable group C2C has released their first LP, “Tetra.” C2C, or Coups2Cross, is comprised of beat gurus 20Syl and DJ Green (of Hocus Pocus) and DJ’s Atom and Pfel (of Beat Torrent). C2C met as teens and have been performing together since, winning (among other things) first place in the DMC World Competition four times in a row, from 2003-2006. C2C achieves their signature sound by recording custom digital samples from vintage instruments and improvising electronic beats in a jazz-rooted performance style.
From start to end, “Tetra” is good. For starters, the guest artist list for the 14-track album reads like a who’s-who of musical artists, featuring contributions from the likes of Chicago’s Rita J. and L.A.’s Pigeon John to jazz great Jay Jay Johnson and the Scottish bhangra group Tigerstyle. The track lineup ranges in style from the Motown-inspired “Happy” to the flute, piano and electric bass-driven march of “The Cell.” “F.U.Y.A.” slams in as an introspective middle-eastern instrumental, and the production twists and turns of “Give Up The Ghost” blend analog and digital like melted musical butter, a likewise summation as to the varied pieces of this DJ creation.
