Skalpel – Konfusion

Polish duo Skalpel return with their second album for Ninja Tune and itís a deeper, darker, more satisfying journey into the roots of Eastern European jazz and breaks than they have ever managed before. From “Shivers” which does exactly what it says on the tin, on into the double bass-driven “Long Distance Call”, the wah-trumpeted, heavy riffing “Test Drive”, the funkiest drumming of the title-track, the cut up torch song aesthetic of “Deep Breath” this is a record brimming with ideas, with atmosphere, with the kind of intelligent cut and paste that makes it an artform instead of a form of theft.
Very much one for jazzers, beat heads and strong cigarette smokers, “Konfusion” is an album to soundtrack your espresso breaks and to play so that you donít have to read Jean Paul Sartre. These boys are celebrities in their mother country, which suggests that the Poles have slightly better taste than we do. The extra special bonus disc which will also be included with “Konfusion” features remixes of tracks from the duoís eponymously-titled debut rendered anew by the likes of Quantic, Dr Rubberfunk and Amalgamation of Soundz Including Skalpelís own cheeky yet monstrous remix of 1958.