Tuesday, August 4, 2020

Duff Review: Mato "Also sprach Zarathustra" b/w "Maiden Voyage"

The artwork reproduces the paper label of a vinyl single with the printed information of this release (this Stix logo, a take on the Stax logo, features a hand holding a joint).Stix Records
7" vinyl single
2020

(Review by Steve Shafer)

Mato is the stage name for the French producer Thomas Blanchot, who transforms classical, hip-hop, and pop works into wonderful reggae/dub creations. This incredible single is spun off his 2019 digital-only album Classical Dub (check out his rendition of "L'amour est un oiseau rebelle" from Bizet's opera Carmen that is around the 1:36 mark in this video!) and features Richard Strauss' "Also sprach Zarathustra," which, of course, is forever associated in popular culture with Stanley Kubrick's sci-fi movie 2001. This version dispenses with the widescreen grandeur of the original, but holds onto its dramatic flourishes in an endearingly '70s cheesy fashion--the results are a cross between the theme for the Bigfoot/UFO obsessed In Search Of... TV show and a classic King Tubby dub production. The flip side unexpectedly contains an out-of-this-world version of Herbie Hancock's 1965 jazz classic "Maiden Voyage" (over the sea, as opposed to space, time, and existence), making this one mighty double-A sided single.

[This 45 is available through www.juno.co.uk.]

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