Album: Skeletons, Smile (Impossible Ark)

Reviewed by Phil Johnson

Sunday 14 March 2010

Composer and bandleader Benedic Lamdin of Nostalgia 77 fashions an homage to Ethiopiques-style African jazz and exotica, using offcuts of previously commissioned library music (the skeletons in his cupboard) as the primary source material.

The trouble is, while perfectly satisfactory as half-heard background hum, the music is neither sufficiently funky nor sufficiently out-there weird to command attention, especially in a world teeming with excellent, cheap Afrobeat comps.

Suggested Topics
Property
It's a fix: when Simon Read saw his bill for roof repairs, he felt he was being overcharged

The day I took on the tradesmen's guild

propertyWhen a roofer charged The Independent's personal finance editor for travel time, he wrote about it – and all hell was let loose
News
Police stop a driver with an even-numbered car in Paris yesterday

Paris' local council finds a bizarre way of reducing the city's smog problem

news
News
<b>Rude Britannia:</b> The stereotype of Britain as 'a polite country of restraint and decorum' is exploded (if the World Cup doesn't do it first) in a challenging and provocative series exploring our traditions of satire and bawdy and lewd humour. Starting in the Georgian era of Hogarth, Gillray and Rowlandson and ending in the near-present of 'Viz', 'Spitting Image' and 'Little Britain', this three-part series also takes in music hall and the postcard art of Donald McGill. <p><b>When?</b> Wednesdays from 14 June on BBC4</p>

Did the English language just get a bit cruder?

newsOxford English Dictionary's recent additions include some profanities
Life & Style
Still standing: Blair Falconer with girlfriend Debbie Hicklin in Hyde, Greater Manchester. Debbie saved his life with CPR

Finding a genetic killer in the family

healthUncovering an inherited condition causing cardiac failure in the young
VIDEO
Have you tried new the Independent Digital Edition iPad app?
Arts & Entertainment
Gore fest: Kristin Gore

'I'd rather laugh about disappointment than cry about it': Kristin Gore

filmWriter and film-maker talks to Geoffrey Macnab about trauma, humour and her dad, Al Gore
Arts & Entertainment
Jack Whitehall is outraged at the BBC's decision to axe comedy and drama channel BBC Three

Young comic is still a work in progress

comedyJack Whitehall struggles to keep pace with hype on debut arena tour
News
Handout photo taken with permission from the Twitter feed of Tim Rowell of a yacht which got stuck on the River Thames under Richmond bridge in London. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Issue date: Sunday March 16, 2014. The vessel was said to have got wedged under Richmond bridge due to rising water levels. Witnesses said the yacht later passed underneath as the river level subsided later.

A smashing way to spoil a lovely day on the river

videoWatch as luxury yacht crashes into Richmond Bridge in front of crowds soaking up the spring sun
Extras

Show her you really care: 10 best Mother's Day gifts

indybest
Arts & Entertainment
Prize poet: Alexander Pushkin

Are you Tolstoy or Dostoevsky?

booksThe Pushkin House Russian Book Prize aims to bring the UK and Russia closer together
News
'Rather than throw them in landfill, why not eat them?' Clarissa Dickson Wright

Two Fat Ladies star dies

newsClarissa Dickson Wright passes away aged 66
News
Paul Cicala, a sports reporter for News4 KVOA

Seriously, who would be a television reporter?

videoWatch this sports reporter trying to run and falling flat on his face
Sport
Steven Gerrard celebrates scoring his second penalty in the 3-0 win over Manchester United

Premier League: 7 things we learnt this weekend

sportWhich team keep firing blanks in the must-win games?
Arts & Entertainment
Actor and producer Brad Pitt poses with his award for best film for

Is Brad Pitt the next film star to plot a move to TV?

tv
Extras

10 best hot cross buns

indybestIf you can't wait till Good Friday
Arts & Entertainment
Miley Cyrus is recording a cover of 'Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds' with The Flaming Lips and MGMT

We Can Twerk it Out?

musicMiley Cyrus to cover The Beatles in one of music's weirdest duets
Arts & Ents blogs

‘Back to the Garden’: A compelling portrayal of ordinary people

Interview with Paul Wolinski of 65daysofstatic: “We had very little idea what we were doing”

Friday Book Design Blog: Serpent’s Tail Classics

Independent
Travel Shop
the manor
Australia triple-centre holiday
 from £1,785 pp for 10 nights Find out more
santorini
Chryssana Beach Hotel,
from £40 prpn Find out more
sardina foodie
The Bishopstrow Hotel & Spa
 from £139 prpn Find out more
Have you tried new the Independent Digital Edition iPad app?

independent images

SPONSORED FEATURES

Cumbria: The place to be

Win the ultimate photograph break worth over £2500 in the Lake District, Cumbria.

Summer Austria Win £100 York Break
INES Uniqlo Prizes & offers Business videos

Summer Austria

In the summer, Austria casts off its iconic icy appearance and turns gorgeously green – its mountains and valleys becoming the perfect playground for sunny adventures.

Win holiday Win £100 York Break
INES Uniqlo Prizes & offers Business videos

Win £100 Uniqlo online voucher

Enter the competition for your chance to win a copy of Parisian fashion icon Ines de la Fressange's book "La Parisenne" & £100 Uniqlo voucher to spend online

Win holiday Summer Austria York Break
INES Uniqlo Prizes & offers Business videos

Win a luxury two-night break in York

Plus two East Coast return tickets from London to York and two York Passes

Win holiday Summer Austria Win £100
INES Uniqlo Prizes & offers Business videos

Coats for inbetweeners

In November you coveted the soft teddy down of your winter coat – the affair is over. Now you’re trading up: switching cosy coat for spring jacket.

Win holiday Summer Austria Win £100
York Break Prizes & offers Business videos

Enter the latest Independent competitions

Win anything from gadgets to five-star holidays on our competitions and offers page.

Win holiday Summer Austria Win £100
York Break INES Uniqlo Business videos

Business videos from commercial thought leaders

Watch the best in the business world give their insights into the world of business.

Win holiday Summer Austria Win £100
York Break INES Uniqlo Prizes & offers

ES Rentals

    Independent Dating
    and  

    By clicking 'Search' you
    are agreeing to our
    Terms of Use.

    Al-Qa’ida, the second act: Why the global 'war on terror' went wrong

    Al-Qa’ida, the second act

    Why the global 'war on terror' went wrong
    HS2 fast-tracked to put the North first

    HS2 fast-tracked to put the North first

    Ministers are told the only way of keeping costs down is to start building now
    'Full Monty' to close after just a month in West End

    Not much to show for it

    'The Full Monty' stage play to close in West End
    Britain’s five richest families worth as much as poorest 20 per cent, says Oxfam

    A handful of billionaires

    Britain’s five richest families worth as much as poorest 20 per cent, says Oxfam
    Radical plan to break up English Heritage ‘rushed’ and ‘not viable’

    Is plan for English Heritage history?

    Radical plan to break up organisation ‘rushed’ and ‘not viable’
    The 'black spider' letters: Dear Prince Charles, opinions are for abdicators

    The 'black spider' letters: Dear Prince Charles, opinions are for abdicators

    The heir to the throne likes to make his views known – but not to us. He should learn from his mother, and keep his letters polite and bland
    Three years after Gaddafi, Libya is imploding into chaos and violence

    Patrick Cockburn: Three years after Gaddafi, Libya is imploding into chaos and violence

    Its government has no real power; militias are ever more entrenched, and now the state itself is under threat
    Postcode comedy: BBC goes meta with 'W1A' and marks a big birthday by sending itself up

    Postcode comedy

    BBC goes meta with 'W1A' and marks a big birthday by sending itself up
    Seeing red: It's not just an expression for angry people, but also scientific fact

    Seeing red

    It's not just an expression for angry people, but also scientific fact
    Dr Clive Peedell: 'If we can catch public anger, we can win seats'

    Dr Clive Peedell: 'If we can catch public anger, we can win seats'

    The cancer specialist standing against David Cameron in next year's election is determined to stop further privatisation of the NHS
    Joe McGinniss, a master of reportage, whatever the cost

    Joe McGinniss, a master of reportage, whatever the cost

    For the American journalist and author, writing a book required total immersion in the subject – even if that meant becoming part of the story himself, says Rupert Cornwell
    This is England, Broadchurch and now Line of Duty - how does Vicky McClure keep her feet on the ground?

    Vicky McClure: 'I'm desperate to get my Docs on'

    The hit police whodunnit 'Line of Duty' finishes this week, but fear not! There's likely to be more prime-time Vicky McClure in 'Broadchurch' and 'This is England'
    Lord of the Flies is still a blueprint for savagery

    Lord of the Flies: Blueprint for savagery

    Six decades ago, William Golding set out a terrifying view of the base instincts of a marooned band of children
    The club so powerful no one admits to having joined

    DJ Taylor: The club so powerful no one admits to having joined

    From the late Tony Benn to Nigel Farage, maverick politicians like to portray themselves as battling 'the Establishment', a mysterious, ever-shifting force
    Einstein MC King Skunk embodies the new spirit of Burma

    Einstein MC King Skunk: New spirit of Burma

    Two years ago, Einstein would have been locked up for being a punk. Today, he’s the spikey embodiment of Burma’s heady freedoms