They just might not call it by its original name, but trip hop is back. And if you need any further proof that it is coming back in a big way, than you don’t have to go any further than Black Salt, the new (second) album by Kiiōtō.
Those who might have forgotten about the prime time of trip hop back in the mid and late nineties, Lamb were one of the big names in this genre, and Lou Rhodes was lead vocalist and co-founder of that band, and he even got a Mercury Music Prize nomination. Now, he is joined by award-winning songwriter and pianist Rohan Heath to form Kiiōtō, both being in a sort of hiatus from making music.
Joined by several guests, notably guitarist Hawi Gondwe (Amy Winehouse), double-bassist Andy Hamill (4 Hero, Carleen Anderson), drummer Mykey Wilson (Corrine Bailey Rae), and even some impromptu guitar by David Arnold, the duo goes for a detailed, jazz-inflected sound, that ranges from late night jazz club vibe of the opener ‘Butterfly’ or ‘Lost Map’, to fully orchestrated, cinematic spread of ‘Little Axe’ and whatever they could stick in between the two.
Yet, instead of creating a sort of mess, the duo keep everything in check with measured songwriting and detailed, measured arrangements that are set for exactly what each song needs. “Black Salt was a rite of passage”, says Rhodes, “one that often took us to places way beyond our comfort zones. The result, though, is an album we couldn’t be prouder of.”
It is more of an acoustic take of the original, full of the electronics side of trip hop, and if it was out of Kiiōtō’s comfort zone, maybe they should stay out of it for a while.
