We all get by with a little help from our friends, or so the saying goes. I'm not disputing the premise; I'm simply restating it for clarity's sake. You're always connected to someone, depending on them, trusting them (ever so implicitly)... You can act like you're on an island, but really, you're only just a peninsula with a mote- maybe a very wide mote- but you can never completely defy your attachment to the mainland that is the remainder of humanity. That heart of stone is counted amongst the rhythm of countless others in the orchestra pit of a civil concert, and its part in the unison of creation is certain and unquestionable. So why not admit as much and make some sweet music with your fellow homosapiens? It's worked for Lee Paradice, at least. For his second LP, the composer-turned-sherpa, Daniel Lee has embarked on an upending collaborative project, allowing "guest" musicians to determine the course of his record in a total spirit of collaboration, with Dan positively keeping pace and producing the outcome to the best of his abilities. & Co is incredibly interesting in this regard, in that it is a record that works diligently at a conceptual level to deliver something that is both unenforceable and retentive. Daniel's collection of Yamaha and bass grooves set the guide rails, but otherwise, the funk train has no predetermined destination, almost like it's skipped the tracks and landed on a frozen lake and is now keeping from capsizing by tracing brilliantly articulate patterns on a knife's edge as it glides on the unpredictable surface. & Co has the vibe of a jazz record, only instead of a heady avant-brew of a free associate of rhythm and measure, the result is more akin to kaleidoscoping new wave and funk record of mint, beating-breast of the '80s vintage- a refreshingly adaptable and accessible encounter that you certainly don't require more than a passing appreciation of the Eurythmics or Zapp to safely and comfortably immerse yourself in. A testament to what can be done between friends when one hocks their compass overboard and lets themselves be guided by the elucidating thump of the sound of their hearts reverberating in the open air.
