Dao Dezi is definitely among the top ten albums in my 500+ CD collection - perhaps not only because of its sheer musical quality, but because the album is simply so much fun listening to.

The producer of the album is Eric Mouquet of Deep Forest and on this recording he collaborates with some of Brittany's best-known musicians, Tri Yann, Denez Prigent and Manu Lann Huel to create something that has both the native flavor of Breton traditional music and the energy and speed of modern dance music.

Fans of Deep Forest should know what to expect - precise electronic drums and basslines, mesmerizing stereophonic loops, sampled chanting and softly droning synthetic pads form the background for the various male singers. The singing on most of the tracks is energetic and very fast and even if you understand the French and Breton lyrics you may find it hard to sing along (and with melodies as catchy as these, you will probably want to).

Throughout the album, the singing and synthesizer backwashes are complemented with larger-than-life instrumental passages played on bagpipes, bombardes, violons and various whistles and pipes, all very competently and professionally played and greatly contributing to the "world music" sound of the album.

The album opens with the track "Hebrides", which is the only song where the singing is only partially human and partially sampled and digitally processed (in fact not very unlike the Pygmy voices on the first Deep Forest album). The lyrics are delivered in such a toungue-breaking speed that you can hardly follow it in the lyrics sheet.

The second track, "La Jument De Mishao", is probably the best song on the entire album. Tri Yann's rough-edged and self-confident singing is accompanied by folk-sounding bombarde and violin riffs, male backing choirs and handclapping and has an immensely catchy chorus melody (translates to "I hear the Wolf, the Fox and the Weasel sing").

Equally lovely is the third track, "Kokerikero", with its hypnotic rhythms loop and its monotone and laid-back animal imitation lyrics. Michel Sanchez from Deep Forest contributes with some of the most wicked sampled loops I have ever heard played against the Uilleann Pipes in the chorus. If anything on this album sounds like Deep Forest, this track is it. Simply irresistible!

The first three tracks are by far the best ones and if the entire album had been of the same quality, it would easily have reached the five star mark. But unfortunately the album gradually loses momentum after these.

"Ti Eliz Iza" with its ominous and melancholic ambience and mournful singing is just too much unhappiness and grief, and it's quite a relief when the speed is picked up with the track "Tri Martolod". It is a nice and definitely dancey song, but nowhere near the perfection of the first three tracks.

"Gaspesie" is again a rather gloomy, although beautifully performed instrumental track, followed by another of my favorites, "An Tri Breur". The cheeky and relentless bagpipe melody and the abstract lyrics make this track as far from anything even remotely mainstream as it can get.

Unfortunately the magic is soon ruined by the introduction of the incredibly boring final track "11.11.93 / Digor", which never fails to have me reaching for the "skip" button on my remote control. I wonder if this song is finished at all...?

To fill up the album, three additional bonus tracks have been included at the end. These are remixes of the same song ("Ti Eliz Iza") with varying degree of success. The last remix is by far the cheesiest, and the various sound effects (waterfall, dub basslines, screams, football crowd sounds and a voice asking "Do you have time for a pleasant experience") seem completely out of place. The slow and heavy drums are pretty irresistible though...

It's a pity that these bonus tracks are remixes of the same song instead of three different ones - as it is, you may find it a bit dull having to listen to the same song three times in a row, even if the arrangements are otherwise completely different.

(By the way, if you wonder about the name "Dao Dezi", it means "Let's go!" or "Come on!" in Breton.)

Monsieur Mouquet, can we have some more please?

Track listing
---------------------------------------------------
1. Hebrides
2. La Jument de Mishao
3. Kokerikero
4. Ti Eliz Iza
5. Tri Martolod (including
6. The King of the Fairies
7. Gaspesie
8. An Tri Breur
9. 11.11.93 (including
10. Digor
11. Ti Eliz Iza (Love Palace Remix)
12. Ti Eliz Iza (Magic Carpet Remix)
13. Ti Eliz Iza (The Youth Remix)



Recommended: Yes

Great Music to Play While: Getting ready to go out