"Great," I thought as I opened this CD, "a movie soundtrack about a guywho runs around tagging in abandoned train yards and warehouses andstuff. HAS to be hip-hop, lots of down and dirty backpacker hip hop.Hopefully it'll be as relevant but less whiny than Sage Francis, aselemental but not as blunted as Madlib...wait, what the fuck? It's byKid Loco, Paris discothèque DJ, who spins trip hop and house to hordesof sweaty lycra and polyester wearing Eurotrash."Mettray Reformatory
Not only that, hesays it's good enough to be a stand-alone album, not just auralaccompaniment to the film. Having not seen the film, I really can't sayhow it functions as a soundtrack- but judging from the music, Mr. The Graffiti Artistis a dark and brooding chap, graffing buildings to a wandering andrepetitive vaguely Eastern sitar and woodwind motif. Recurring themesare apparent in the soundtrack's 80 minutes—the sitar and woodwinds,and a mournful calliope hooting behind a vaguely hip hop drumroll—meaning Loco may be using leitmotif—or he may just have ran out ofideas and mailed this one in. As far as atmospherics go, he's nailedthe seedy, nocturnal feel. You can almost feel the fog and darknesscoming out of the speakers when the Eastern instruments play. However,the calliope and drums aren't very emotive: with one exception, they'rebland and repetitive. The album does seem like it's building to somesort of climax at the very end, but instead of coming to any sort of apeak, the music drifts away, leaving, well, nothing. This may be aperfect backdrop to a post-modern urban nihilist film. This may be theweirdest and most ill-conceived pairing since Mr. T babysat JerryFalwell's kids. The film's perceived audience—kids in hoodedsweatshirts with Sharpies in their pockets and rap in theirheadphones—will probably think it's the latter. Loco is a finemusician, and some will probably enjoy the inoffensive musical banterhe provides here. Whether they will ever hear it—or hear it along withthe film—remains to be seen.
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