Unlimited Culture ADD

Review

Album Review: Unlimited Culture - Plant A Seed

09/12/2014

After the last review said Eat Ripe Fruit [Elijah], the current one is all about Plant A Seed. I know, generally you have to do the latter to be able to do the former, but whatever their order, both titles deal with one of the most fundamental issues of our planet: food and the securing thereof.

This time it is Unlimited Culture who step in the spotlight, a dynamic young group from Bavaria, Germany. Formerly known as Ribbonpics, Leonard Schinn (vocals), Felix Strehl (guitar), Maximilian Vasall (bass), Andreas Hagen (drums) and Philipp Riesinger (keys) now present their first EP containing 6 tracks. Produced and mastered at Ants Can Dance Studio, it was released under the wings of Otter Records while photography and artwork were contributed by Ring-A-Ting. Support your locals!

Setting off on a rock note with Smog, this is the first time I ever came across a tune that addresses the problem of too many emissions in our cities. As we will see, this lyrical topicality actually is the unique feature of the band's music.

The second song is a tribute to the star we rotate around. To a joyful, skanky beat and the beautiful sound of an original Korg organ, Sun Is Shining Every Day tells us in German and English about its positive properties.

Higher might work much better in a live performance than it does on domestic playback - both the melody and the riddim track did not really catch me, but it might just be the jumping crowd that is missing here. The guitar is definitely spectacular!

In Freiheit, the whole delivery becomes more authentic since the singer switches to his Bavarian idiom. Even though not all international (and even national!) listeners will understand what he has to say, the overall quality of the song wins by not singing in English.

The next piece is remarkable in several ways. First of all, it's one of the tracks that found its way to the accompanying CD of Da Sandwichmaker's celebrated vegetarian cook book Moa Fire II and is out on video as well. Besides the handmade music that is a joy to follow, it also reflects on a subject so central to Rastafarian culture that it's actually strange it doesn't feature in more Reggae songs: Vegetarian Food!

Live It Up rounds off the whole affair with more advice. Get along with everyone, respect the gifts of the earth and abolish mass animal farming are some of Lenny's suggestions on how to make our world a better place. The raw, almost Viking quality of the singer's voice comes to the fore here, and it is a matter of personal taste if the obvious absence of formal training is seen as a deficit or a plus factor of natural charm.

It will be very interesting to see if Plant A Seed finds recognition internationally. The innovative confrontation with subjects rarely treated in "traditional" Jamaican Reggae is highly praiseworthy. As young as the members of Unlimited Culture are, they certainly found much more conscious and important issues to address than many of their older and more famous colleagues. Hopefully the seed planted with this EP will grow and spread, so that the attempt to find solutions for pressing social and ecological problems is paid more attention than the physical properties of girls' body parts.

Mind over matter!!!