KanYe West : 808s & Heartbreak
808s & Heartbreak, the new album from KanYe West, was released in France today,
We won’t offend you by giving you a rushed review after just a few hours of listening (even if we have been listening to certain leaked tracks for several weeks), but we will say that we have found it… disconcerting.
It’s very good, but not easily accessible the first time through, as the majority of the tracks on the album would be classified as pop. Yes, you read that correctly, it’s not a rap album: there is no customary Parental Advisory label to spoil the beautiful cover art, which will also be available as part of a collector’s edition from Kaws.
As you will have no doubt noticed having read just a small number of our articles, we are massive fans of KanYe’s. We are still recovering from his Glow In The Dark concert last week… a quite extraordinary experience, perfectly summarised by our friends at Darkplanneur:
KanYe West (Bercy) the new Sun King in Paris!
There are a handful of concerts that have formed an integral part of musical history. The performance of Mr West at Bercy yesterday quite simply M A D E H I S T O R Y.
From the very beginning the show had a larger-than-life feel to it, and it began with an artist that is out-of-this-world: cult heroes “The Roots” gave us an opening set that was worthy of a Dionysian party, with their totally unique “Contemporary Baroque” sound.
The “Futuristic Techno” story of Mr. West then got under way! Take note, here the expression “Futuristic Techno” has multiple meanings. It not only describes the set, but also the way in which Louis Vuitton and Marc Jacobs, “the artist’s patron brands” like to play with this trend in their shows.
The “Glow in the Dark Tour” is a maelstrom of hi-tech visuals (including a sublime tribute to Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey), visionary VJing, rhythms within rhythms, and transgressive elegance. In two words: Groundbreakingly awesome.
Mr. West is part of that brotherhood of divinely proud creators (Lagerfeld, Dali…). Yesterday in Paris, he became our Sun King. His final, excessively audacious speech actually rang true: “It’s History!”… Long live the King.
Enough said.
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Il est vrai que son dernière album divise l’opinion…
Pour ma part je le trouve fantastique et novateur.
Un changement de style très direct mais qui lui va tout aussi bien.
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