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Album Review: Joakim - Tropics Of Love

Roshan Clerke

It’s a stunning mix of man and machine.




Is it possible for the French to make bad dance music? Even America's best dance band, Chic, use the French word for 'cool' as their name. It should come as no surprise then that Frenchman Joakim's fifth album is perfection. The production on Tropics Of Love is lush and tribal, recalling the nuanced grooves of Michael Jackson and the textuality of Art Of Noise. It constantly shifts with a fluid spontaneity, as elements of jazz peek through on tracks like On The Beach and Man Like Moon. It's a stunning mix of man and machine.