Illuminated Audio

As remix albums go, Illuminated Audio is better suited for fans of American producer/bassist Bill Laswell than of Ethiopian singer Ejigayehu Shibabaw--aka Gigi. As demonstrated throughout 2001€s self-titled release, Gigi€s airy, melismatic voice is an instrument capable of subtlety, power, and amazing grace. The earlier album mixed funky, complex Ethiopian pop with a dub soup of electronica, funk, and jazz. Like Choying Drolma and Steve Tibbetts€s Cho, Gigi is one of those rare modern cross-cultural recordings that update old sounds without being overtly reverential. It helped that real instruments were utilized rather than layers of samples. On Illuminated Audio, Laswell returns to the original tapes and lays down entirely new tracks ! on top of loops of the old songs. The result is a lovely ambient groove-pop album with blunted tunes that average seven minutes in length. But the keyboard washes tend toward Velveeta and, in the end Illuminated Audio leaves one thirsty for new music from this lovely young Ethiopian singer. --Mike McGonigal