"VIAGRA OPUS"
Producer Raz Mesinai (aka Badawi) presents LadyMan with a collection of
hook-laden dancehall and dub excursions. LadyMan brings out the playful side of this talented producer. These danceable conversations between horn, bass, and razor tight rhythms will wipe a sleazy grin across your face. Giggles, oohhs, and aahhs emerge from a singularly warped imagination. This is dubbed out Badawi at the top of his game.
XLR8R REVIEW
LadyMan, ostensibly, is the sleazier side of Raz Mesinai, better known for crossbreeding dub rhythms with traditional Middle Eastern folk music as Badawi and as one-half of early '90s NYC dub deconstructionists Sub Dub. While there are some airs of parody and cheekiness running through Viagra Opus ("Old Spice" is my favorite track title), tracks like "Infomercial" and "Feeely Hard" are no less dark than Mesinai's work with Sub Dub. Ther tracks are all good in and of themselves, especially dancehall flavored ones like "Steppin' Lady Style," but when it's all done, you're still left wondering what exactly the story is behind this Viagra opus.
(Jesse Serwer)
SPILL MAGAZINE
Yet another gem from the Agriculture Label, this is the second CD I've received them and it's awesome. Viagra Opus is loaded with cool electronic/dub chill tracks that would be a great partner on a long road trip in the country or after a long day at work with a cold one in hand.
Not much more needs to be said, pick this one up.
BIO
Raz Mesinai was born in Jerusalem
in 1973. His first two decades were
spent in frequent transit between
Jerusalem and New York City,
where he became immersed in
both the worlds of traditional Middle
Eastern music, and the New York City
dub and hip-hop scenes of the eighties
and early nineties.
Mesinai released his first record at
the age of 18. Since then, his work
as a musician, composer, engineer,
DJ and producer has kept him on
the forefront of the New York
underground music scene. His
acclaimed recordings under the
moniker Badawi, and as one half of
the seminal duo Sub Dub
(with producer/engineer John Ward),
are impossible to classify, but have
been called hybrid electronica/dub/
percussion/avant-garde
compositions. All of his music
unites acoustic instruments, often
traditional drumming, with
electronics, bringing to mind a
fusion of the ancient and the
futuristic. Since 1999, Mesinai
has been releasing electro-acoustic
compositions under his own name,
including three releases on John
Zorn's "Tzadik" label.
Mesinai has collaborated with many of New York's top musicians,
including Eyvind Kang, Mark
Dresser, Marc Ribot, Mark Feldman,
John Zorn, Shelley Hirsch, Elliott
Sharp and Zeena Parkins, among
many others. He's had two works
commissioned by the Lincoln Center
Festival, including "String Quartet
for Four Turntables" in 2000. In
2001, "Soldier of Midian" (ROIR),
the fourth Badawi release, was
honored by Ars Electronica festival.
In 2002, Raz was a featured artist
in the Next, Next Wave festival of
B.A.M., and also opened for Nubian
master musician Hamza El Din,
a personal highlight.
http://www.razmesinai.com
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