Altsounds - Transglobal Underground - Run Devils And Demons:The Best Of [Album]

Any collective, whatever genre, that has existed, successfully, for almost two decades must be applauded for both their efforts and their contribution to music on the whole. So applause goes to Transglobal Underground. The self titled “hipsters, flipsters and finger popping daddies” of the music world.

Since the early 90’s Transglobal Underground “refused to accept that dance music had to be four to the floor” and embraced world music culture, ranging right across the globe, from Africa, The Middle East, Asia, Europe, Scandinavia and back again. Run Devils and Demons is a compilation that takes in the highlights of this collective’s quite staggering, all-encompassing attitude and the results are as far reaching as could be possible.

The Album is a two CD compilation that takes in 26 Tracks, that would have been so much better served if it had been mixed, The album takes in the early 90’s beginnings of TGU’s experimentation with Trip and Hip Hop into the latter day experiments with Nile Delta Disco’s chanting Egyptian pharaohs and live edits and remixes of the latter day stuff. There are also excursions into Indian inspired break-beat and intricate synth play coupled with Hindu verses being sung.

Both CD’s are quite a treat. Anyone who is familiar with the Buddha Beats series will know the sort of music I am referring too, it is just that the quality of the output of this band, certainly on this compilation CD, is much higher than any generic compilation. When you take into account that the CD encompasses nearly a full 20 years of touring, recording and imagination, you start to realise the length and breadth of Transgloabal Underground and start to respect their choice in name. There are some parts of the CD where you start to think that perhaps there was too much acid involved in Transglobal Undergrounds’ trans-global adventures, yet as the CD moves on you start to appreciate the many different cultures that they have experienced on their travels, and perhaps this assault on the senses was alone responsible for their far out taste and vision in music. On listening you start to thank the group for taking the time to let you experience sounds and atmospheres that are far from your middle England sitting room, or wherever you may be.

There is too much variety to go through the whole CD track by track, and it is something that has too be listened too and not described. There are certainly stand outs on both CD’s, but these will be different for all listeners as the songs are so diverse and so wide ranging in terms of their content, emotion and evolution.

I would imagine that this collective would have some amazing stories of their travels, and some of these can be seen and heard at www.transglobalunderground.net . All I can say is that I hope this band continues to grow and evolve, and that as the original band members start to age, I hope that they are replaced with younger versions that share the same energy and drive to bring together such varied cultures and ideas, in an attempt to unite them into a dreamy, living far reaching musical entity.