One Giant Leap DVD

1 Giant Leap is a unique project devised by Duncan Bridgeman and Jamie Catto (formerly of Faithless). It's a DVD accompaniment to an album that "fuses spoken word, musicians, sound, rhythms and images from all around the world". Subdivided into themes including "God: Blasphemy", "Inspiration", "Death" and "Happy", its aim is to explore and discover the "unity in diversity" and to this end, they profess to have assembled the "most happening musicians, authors, scientists and thinkers we could find" to offer their own thoughts interspersed with a river of eclectic ambient... and world music along with images captured on their global travels. While the list of contributors does include Kurt Vonnegut and Brian Eno, whose contribution regarding olive trees is typically apposite and perfectly formed, one might wonder if the likes of Big Brother presenter Davina McCall and an ex-porn star really represent the vanguard of global thinking. The musical contributors include some artists seemingly past their sell-by date, such as Eddie Reader and Neneh Cherry, while the participation of Robbie Williams might make some groan. Furthermore, this sort of audio-visual imagery runs the danger of resembling the language of modern advertising, with its soothing, pan-global blandishments used to promote multinational industry. And yet, for all one's doubts, this project really does work. So often, ethnic music is drowned in bland, new-age "muzak" to make it palatable to Western ears. Here, it is heightened. A free-thinking, free-flowing context is provided in which all shine, including Michael Stipe and even Williams himself. This is a laudable project that demonstrates the possibility of working in margins unspoiled by commercialism is still alive. On the DVD: 1 Giant Leap on disc includes an accompanying booklet, amply packed with text and illustration. The 5.1 Dolby Digital surround sound is particularly robust and bass-heavy. Extras include videos for the two singles, "Braided Hair" featuring Arrested Development's Speech and Neneh Cherry, and "My Culture", featuring Faithless's Maxi Jazz, both of which encapsulate the musical and ideological themes of the project as a whole. --David Stubbs [show more]

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