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Eric Lau
Brave New World
Eric Lau's debut album New Territories explores Hong Kong through nu-jazz/soul influences.
Eric Lau is all about the slow dance songs. This UK-based music producer's 2008 New Territories displays a multi-genre nu-jazz/soul aesthetic that carries a light mood into timeless daydreams. Despite the deliberate pauses between songs, the transitions in the album feel seamless. Hand-picked by Lau, international musicians Rahel, Layla and Annabel (known only by their first names) provide haunting vocals for the album.
Upon first listen, I am reminded of a myriad of influences: the flute instrumentals of Yusef Lateef, the reveries of Hil St. Soul's "For the Love of You," and the psychedelic Shuggie Otis infusion. At 26, Lau is young, but he has already produced tracks for top industry artists like Lupe Fiasco and Dudley Perkins. His own influences are more recent generations of soul-tripping musicians like ?uestlove, Pete Rock, and D'Angelo. New Territories is Lau's first solo effort, he's written and/or co-written every song on the album.
The album is complete with Welcome and Outro; Lau begins with a steady balance between minimal chords and flute work, ending with mellowed improvisation. The first track, featuring South London-based, Taiwah, eases us into the mood. Taiwah's voice recalls Goapele's style of echo effects and lasting resonance.
In an interview with the Firetrap nominated emerging UK talent, Lau says that New Territories is a lot about understanding his home in Hong Kong. "People have a vision of Hong Kong being sky scrapers and high rises everywhere," says Lau. "However, the area known as New Territories is full of mountain ranges, sea, villages and farm land. It's very peaceful and pure there, and these are qualities I try to incorporate into my production."
If you never listened to nu-soul, you might mistakenly label the album a repeated variation of the first song. But then again, you might not be completely wrong. It's nice to notice the subtle flutes and ripples of the music. Lau shelters us in the environment of a dimly lit London club, and we're not in a hurry to leave. He changes it up a bit with slightly faster tempos in "Confession Lounge" featuring Rahel, but the mood remains a relaxed swagger for most of the album.
My favorite is the detailed end looping and fading of Rahel's "Show Me." Throughout the track, you get the sense that you've quite literally, entered new territories. If you could complement it with any visual, the first image that comes to my mind would be gliding across the Milky Way (which makes his cover art of the moon very fitting).
The next track, also featuring Rahel, is a concerted effort to break from jazz and to venture to funk and Latin sounds. The samba-like beat is like a slowed up version of what I'd hear from the intro of Bossa Nova albums.
Perhaps better than the actual Outro that concludes Lau's album, is Meshach Brown's feature on the song "Hope," which if I may read between the lines, is a pretty good summary of what Eric Lau and friends feel about their future. Namely, that those "oceans for us to sail" are the challenges that they will face breaking into an unforgiving industry. The desire to "craft a vision of a better day for who at times struggle to hope hope hope" is their ultimate inspiration.
Date Posted: 2/6/2009