Cirque du Soleil

Text by: Keith Johnson | March 2005
Fascination! Newsletter, Issue #42

"EXCLUSIVE! Preview of the Delirium CD!"

Bless EBAY.

There you can find almost any Cirque collectible you want. We've seen one-of-a-kind experiences and even original Cirque character mask props there (though neither was actually sold, see our past issues for details). EBAY, at one time or another, features everything from currently offered products to rare items from Cirque's beginnings, and occasionally glimpses into its future. Which leads to this months exclusive preview of the dance-remix "Delirium" CD, from a preview copy purchased there.

The CD came with no packaging other than a list of tracks. The CD is even stickered "Not For Production" and was duplicated on a gold CD-R blank.

Now here's where Yours Truly is out of his league. I'm not a club hopper, dance fiend, or highly knowledgable about the DJs or remix styles featured here. So I couldn't even begin to tell you how these remixes fare against other offerings from these DJs and producers. I don't even know what kind of "style" most of these are in, and must embarrassingly admit I don't know my "house" from my "deep house" from "trance." There are several in the Cirque-fan-verse much more qualified to comment on these tracks. But I have the CD and they don't - thank Visa! So I shall press on with my impressions of this soon-to-be-released 62:09 long set, and the reader will pardon if they are not as knowledgable as they might be.

The approach here is certainly different than Solarium, which featured down-tempo "chillout" remixes of Cirque songs. While that disk might have been a more appropriate sell for the upscale Cirque target audience, Delirium presents Cirque music with a heavy dance beat in a mostly continuous mix from beginning to end, clocking in at 127-133 bpm (beats per minute) throughout.

1. Emballa from Varekai (6:22 - 127 bpm) - Louie Vega featuring Jaffa - We start out with energy, as this Varekai track gets a nice latin- style remix. Much of the vocal is preserved here, making it more of a "song" than some of the others. It doesn't sound much different than the Nitin Sawhney-produced "soundtrack" version, but takes on more of a tropical flavor.

2. Querer from Alegria (6:05 - 127 bpm) - Julien Jabre - A samba! What a different approach! Francesca Gagnon's original vocal comes shining through. Though I must admit I'm so used to the original that hearing these lyrics in this arrangement is a bit unsettling. Again, much of the lyric is used, giving this version a more complete feel. Hand claps and a pipe organ-sound keyboard also pique interest.

3. Kumbalawé from Saltimbanco (7:51 - 129 bpm) - Roger Sanchez - This is one of the standout tracks of the bunch, well deserving of its place on the Top 10 Club Play List. A basic funky beat is soon followed by a deep male voice chanting "Koom-ba-la, ja-koom-ba," followed by the title word with a long echoing tail. A keyboard accentuates the bassline, pulling you deeper in. Sounding like a voodoo priest the chanting continues, augmented only by the title word sung by the chorus from the original song. There is no real "song" to be found here, only tribal groove. Entrancing and powerful. Wait, I have to listen to it again....

4. Aborigenes Jam from Dralion (6:42 - 132 bpm) - Francois K/Eric Kupper - The pace picks up here with samples of African-sounding percussion comprising much of its backbeat. More electronic in its pulse, this utilizes much of the female vocal during its breaks. It's nice, but after the power of Sanchez' Kumbalawe, this just kind of lies there.

5. Poiknoi from Saltimbanco (6:41 - 131 bpm) - Sasha - Going even more electronic, brings in some of the strings and female vocals from the original and surrounds it with swirling percussion. The song breaks the beat in the middle, almost presenting the chorus in its original form, surrounded by an echo chamber. I have a preference, such as it is, for songs that don't lose their beat for long periods, so I can't say I'm attracted to this too much, though it is pretty.

6. Africa from O (8:48 - 127 bpm) - Quicksound with Alain Vinet - Quicksound is a Montreal-based percussion/performance collective and here they collaborate with fellow Quebecer Alain Vinet on a tune that's a favorite of remixers (appearing here in its third incarnation). I can't see the attraction here, as there is no real "song" to remix, just a vocal and kora playing. But that must be it, as is allows the remixer free reign. Here I feel it doesn't work - the vocals don't seem to "fit" inside the beat, and the kora from the original doesn't add much. The percussion is nice, featuring an interesting digiridoo sound, but otherwise this doesn't click with me.

7. Terre Aride from O (6:10 - 126 bpm) - Jori Hulkkonen - Is this a remix? Really?? I can hardly tell. A bit of vocal chanting and bit of the male throat singing is all that connects it with the 0 original. I can't recognize this at all. It just goes on for six minutes without taking any interesting directions. A mis-fire.

8. Spiritual Spiral from Dralion (6:44 - 134 bpm) - Carmen Rizzo - Deep drum percussion takes center stage here as the pace quickens towards the last two selections. With no forefront beat dominating the mix you have to listen deeper to get the rhythm. Hammered dulcimer samples from the original make an appearance as does a filtered version of Erik Karol's vocal. The filtering lends an interesting aspect to the tune and keeps the ear attuned.

9. Mer Noire from O (6:44 - 133 bpm) - Tiesto - A heavy beat slams to the forefront to announce the final song on the disk. More digiridoo sounds come next, followed by the angelic original chorus female vocals. We return to the more complete song form, with much of the original, including several of the exotic instruments, used here. This would be my favorite were it not for the complete breakdown in the middle, for more female solo vocalizing from the original. As if that weren't enough, it takes another :50 for the beat to return after that! Yes it's pretty and nice and all, and the beat is still there in the background, but is a break of that length necessary? The return of the beat is joyous but short, until the song finally brings the album to a close.

And that's it! The first, exclusive look at the Cirque du Soleil dance remix album. On the whole, I find both Solarium and Delirium fun to listen to depending on mood. There are (of course) hits and misses on both. Now if only Cirque du Soleil Musique could finally get beyond the "remixed by/interpreted by/inspired by" kick they're currently on and concentrate on show soundtrack albums that actually represent the shows they come from.