Music Review: Ror-Shak - Deep

Ror-Shak is the brainchild of DJ DB and DJ Stakka, two long standing veterans of the underground dance and breakbeat scenes.

DJ DB began his career as a professional DJ, before becoming an A&R consultant for Profile Records, where he put together the first Techno and Jungle compilations released in America. He has released 11 DJ mix CDs, and currently is one of the creative forces behind Breakbeat Science. His partner DJ Stakka is a legend in underground Drum and Bass circles, where he has produced hundreds of records — many of which have become club anthems.

What got me interested most about the Ror-Shak project however was not the underground dance pedigree of the two principals, but rather the choices of female vocalists they chose to involve in it. These include Wendy Starland, Morningwood's Chantal Claret, but most notably, Julee Cruise.

Julee Cruise is best known for "Falling," the theme song from the short-lived early nineties cult classic TV show, David Lynch's Twin Peaks. The acid trip quality and overall weirdness of that show led me to a couple of things back in the nineties which have long since become part and parcel of my artistic and cultural palette. One of these was of course the films of David Lynch. But the other was Julee Cruise herself.

On Cruise's first solo album, Floating Into The Night (which includes "Falling"), her erotic, torch-singer vocals and smoky chanteuse persona match the cinematic soundscapes produced by Lynch's longtime musical collaborator Angelo Badalamenti perfectly. The only other thing I have ever heard quite like it in terms of smoldering, trippy eroticism is an album which I'd equally recommend called Zipless, where a largely unknown singer named Vanessa Daou moans her way through an album of sonic orgasms based on the literary works of feminist author Erica Jong.

It's too bad Ror-Shak couldn't have gotten Vanessa Daou on board for this project as well. As it stands, trippy and even a little erotic (if somewhat more dryly so than on the works mentioned above) are two very good ways you could describe this CD.

On "Golden Cage," one of four contributions made here by Ms. Cruise, her breathy vocals glide in and out of a densely mixed tunnel of sound with a late night chill sort of feel to it. Jazzy guitar licks and light keyboard flourishes accentuate the overall feel here as a deep, resonant bass line swallows up everything in sight. If they ever opened up a combination underground dance club and brothel in Twin Peaks, the music could very well sound like this.

Article Author: Glen Boyd

You'll find Blogcritics music editor Glen Boyd sharing his Thoughtmares on his personal blogs The World Wide Glen, and The Rockologist. Glen is also the author of Neil Young FAQ, scheduled for a spring 2012 release by Backbeat Books/Hal Leonard …

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