Dissent Swap Meet Seers CD

As hip-hop becomes the universal catch phrase for anything with drums (and even some music without drums), this exceptionally large San Francisco group -- led by composer/multi-instrumentalist Greg Howe and featuring any and all combinations of 12 drummers, hitters, string players, horn blowers, and computer programmers -- is insistent on pushing the hip-hop definition as far as possible. The dark and moody film soundtrack style of "Coming of Wage"? Hip-hop. The hyperactive jazz break and horn skronk of "Off-Kilter"? Hip-hop. The slow-dancing French coo of vocalist Nathalie Sanchez on "Je Me Souviens"? Yup, you guessed it, hip-hop. Truth is, this album isn't that horribly different than what U.K. labels like Mo' Wax and Ninja Tune have been insisting is hip-hop for a decade, only someone finally has the gall to call it such without some quirky "trip-hop" tag. One guesses the main point is that you can envision some adventurous hip-hop DJ cutting on any one of these dozen selections between some Jay-Z pomp or Lil Jon crunk. Or, at least it sure would be nice if some DJ out there would do just that. Hip-hop used to mean one thing; now it means all things. Some fear that might dilute the cause. But if more "hip-hop" sounded like dissent, the movement would be stronger than ever. ~ Joshua Glazer

Recording information: Little Buddah Studio, San Rafael, CA; The Globe Studio, Kensington, CA; Wide Hive Records, San Francisco, CA.

dissent: Margo Adams (violin); Matt Montgomery (bass guitar); Chris Krotky (drums, percussion); Gregory Howe, Matt Henry Cunitz, Nathalie Sanchez.

Personnel: Nathalie Sanchez (vocals); Gregory Howe (guitar, synthesizer, Moog synthesizer, percussion, loops); Marsha Gonick (viola); Dayna Stephens (alto saxophone, baritone saxophone); Tim Hyland (trumpet); Mike Rinta (trombone); Matt Henry Cunitz (Fender Rhodes piano, Mellotron, synthesizer).