Dapa Deep

Mike Sanchez and Eric Mouquet of Deep Forest have always been musical anthropologists, sampling the sounds of other cultures (Pygmy tribes of Cameroon, Gypsies of Eastern Europe, Cuban street musicians, to name just a few) and swirling them into their own ambient dance pop. On this 2002 release the French duo revisits some old samples and also brings in Turkish chant, Japanese pop, and Indian vocals. They introduce startling new elements as well: heavy electric guitars, many lyrics written in English, and a live drummer replacing the programmed rhythm tracks of their previous recordings.
Many of the lyrics here concern environmental issues and warn of the impending dangers of soullessness…

Deep Forest awash in the Pacific. There is certainly the flavour of that region, with Polynesian chanting and rhythms. However, unlike their other releases, Pacifique is a soundtrack to a movie rather than a stand-alone album.
For Pacifique, they've collected percussion samples and vocals from Samoan and other island cultures. The raw components are fairly good. The sampled voices on Pacifique form a nice melodic and rhythmic counterpoint to underlying percussion. La Legende (Part 2) provides similarly well blended vocals with a solid, if unextraordinary, rhythm and melodic line. And Huaine Reggae is a nice upbeat piece to close the album.

Deep Purple's 2005 album Rapture of the Deep generally maintains the quality of 2003's surprisingly sturdy Bananas. It's the second release from the re-energized lineup of vocalist Ian Gillan, guitarist Steve Morse, bass guitarist Roger Glover, drummer Ian Paice, and keyboardist Don Airey, who replaced the retired Jon Lord. The band's comfort level has increased, and after nearly a decade on board, Morse's stamp is all over the place. At first, this guitar genius' presence was noticeable because of what it lacked – the incredibly distinctive Fender Stratocaster electric guitar tone of Ritchie Blackmore.

No one, least of all Deep Purple themselves, expected the success of 2013's Now What?! It placed at number one on four European album charts and in the Top Ten of six other countries. It also sold exceptionally well: It was certified Gold in Poland, Germany (where it sold over 100,000), the Czech Republic, and Russia – it was the band's first album to crack the U.K.'s Top 40 charts in 20 years. For InFinite, Deep Purple re-enlisted producer Bob Ezrin. At this point, he is almost a sixth member. This the longest running lineup in their history. InFinite is a heavier and more expansive record than its predecessor, but it's not as consistent. Ian Gillian is in excellent form – still possessing intense expressive power and range, his falsetto remains intact four decades on. Don Airey's organ and keys – so elemental in DP's musical architecture – is physical, atmospheric, and dynamic.