![]() ![]() He produced formative work during a formative period, but his records have long been out of print, and ascribing any real guidance to his work requires a lot of faith in the record collections of his offspring. Shakir is known for incorporating hip-hop into his productions, and while the vast majority of Frictionalism exists on the techno axis, it'd be easy to see J Dilla latch onto the symphonic jazz of "Detroit State of Mind" or Madlib onto the smoky Eastern funk of the spectacularly titled "Things Come and Go". Influence is a strange concept with an artist like Shakir, though. Frictionalism spreads out over three and a half hours but it contains few anthems and fewer indulgences, Shakir preferring instead to provide to just lay in the grooves of his regenerating hop. ![]() "Roaming" contains a bobbing jazz bassline "Simpatico" is a keyboard-helmed house jam that is modest and self-contained. "Stereotype"'s slowly gathering strings and "Arise"'s alien synthesizers sound deluxe and deeply musical. Within a group of musicians already notoriously peeved about a lack of respect, Shakir seems particularly upset, referring to himself as the "invisible man of techno." But Shakir is also self-deprecating and aware: He frequently referred to himself as the janitor of Juan Atkins' Metroplex Records he now admits that much of his invisibility is his own doing.įrictionalism is spry and elegant throughout, notable from a scene whose progenitors were both establishing a new genre and learning to use their instruments. In interviews Shakir comes off as an introspective ball of contradictions it is difficult to imagine him attending many club nights. Tracks could function on the floor, but they don't always feel as if they were constructed for that purpose. This is fitting. A noted pop fan- he's notoriously unafraid of playing pop music in his DJ sets, and he once sampled the B-52's- the tracks on Frictionalism rarely betray their samples, yet they also avoid slipping into noise or ambience. At his best, Shakir is a hypnotic producer, spools of psychedelic noise whipping off his tightly coiled beats. ![]()
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