Colour

Album Review

Chilean DJ/producer Jose Antonio Bravo, better known as DJ Bitman, has recorded as half of Bitman & Roban, and is now releasing a solo disc that covers a wide range of sounds and rhythms. There's electro-samba on "Summertime," a hip-hop groove reminiscent of the Jungle Brothers' "Because I Got It Like That" on "Help Me," dub/reggae on "Emigrante," Euro-style electro-funk on "Insomnio" (featuring a very Mala Rodriguez-like rap from Anita Tijoux), and much more. The problem with such a multi-faceted disc is that it inevitably begins to feel disjointed. Had Bitman segued the tracks into one another, or attempted in some other way to create the feeling of a cohesive album rather than a collection of (admittedly impressive) individual musical moments, Colour would have been more fun, and more memorable, than it is. As it is, it's intermittently entertaining, with some tracks in its second half ("State of My Soul," "Letargame," "Voçe") that drag it down.