The Warm Chill

Album Review

It may be claiming too much to say that T.J. Rehmi's work is groundbreaking — the fusion of Indian modalities with drum'n'bass and downbeat electronica is hardly news anymore — but he has certainly emerged as one of the masters of the genre over the last eight years or so. As a native of Birmingham, he comes by both his rhythmic acumen and his eclectic influences honestly, having put in time in jazz and reggae bands and as a fixture on the 1980s bhangra scene. Warm Chill, Rehmi's aptly titled fifth full-length album, is an impressive accomplishment; by turns lush and bracingly funky, it never quite relinquishes a general mood of almost melancholy quietude. Even when the beats are at their sprightliest (as on the wonderful "For the Unknown"), there's a pleasant tension between the song's overall sense of relaxation and lushness and its sturdy rhythmic structure. Other selections, like the atmospheric title track, are aimed more explicitly at the chillout room; still others, like the rhythmically pointillistic "Axis of Ignorance," hint at glitchier and more avant-garde tendencies. Overall, Warm Chill does an admirable job of spicing up a soothing atmosphere with rhythmically and texturally challenging musical ideas. Highly recommended.