Wednesday September 25, 2002 michigandaily.com/arts mae@michigandaily.com ATs 5 'Without a Trace' flawed but promising new CBS drama By Jim Schiff Daily Arts Writer Technology and nature unite. The Ghostly talent. Gh stly spralbgfromAnn Arbor By Jeremy Iressmann Soon after Dear, classically trained musician Mullinix was Daily Arts Writer added to the roster. Mullinix records under his own name as well as abstract hip-hop under the pseudonym of "Dabrye" and Derrick May, Kevin Saunderson and Carl Craig. Three grungy electro as "James Cotton." names with instant name recognition for fans of Detroit Tech- Sam likes to think of Ghostly's current artist roster as a well- no. But what about Matthew Dear, Midwest Product, Charles balanced team. "I think all our guys balance each other out. I Manier and Tadd Mullinix? They may not convey the same don't want all our guys to overlap in the same genre, which is familiarity, but Sam Valenti IV, co-founder of Ann Arbor's cool. It makes it more challenging to get a message across, but Ghostly International, hopes to garner increased local interest at the same time I feel like no one steps on each other's toes." in the artists of the burgeoning record label. Each artist also has a unique role to play in Ghostly's overall As of late, Ghostly has attracted considerable attention in the scheme, almost like a cast of superheroes. "They all have a cer- national media, specifically with their Disco Nouveau compi- taro amount of Ghostly-ness to their approach - artistry and lation and in write-ups by GQ Magazine of the "keectroclash" intrigue. Everyone has a different attribute like superheroes. It's revival currently sweeping clubs nationwide. Electroclash is an like Ihe Justice League in that it's a really strong team." electronic music genre that emphasizes the "retro" feel of pre- Yet the truly unique sounds, concepts and artists that Ghost- vious producers and eras, taking the type of synthesizer sunds ly presents today partially obscures the hard work it took to get used in early'80s hip-hop and new wave. It is characterized by it up and running. The label has been able to distinguish its its very heavily synthesized sound, as well as the infl ences of work and gain international renown for its individual, high- '70s funk. Sam will admit electro is a sound he enjoys for dis- brow sound. But it was hard to convince the music industry of tinctly separate reasons. He noted he likes "the o1d/ntw sound these merits when the label first got started. One main problem of electro - it's retro, it's campy, it's kitsch but it's also still is the label's geography. very much the music of the future." "When you have new artists and a new label and you're in Despite Valenti characterization of Ghostly's work as having the middle of nowhere more or less there's some communica- a retro flavor, he also sees the Ghostly sound in different light, tion that you need to establish," explains Valenti. describing the label's output as "post Detroit" with influences As a newer label it also remains difficult for Ghostly in IDM, Detroit Techno and also electro. The artists of to get access to the traditional music industry institutions Ghostly have been influenced by Detroit, but have been such as national music press and distributors. Valenti able to cultivate a stylistic offshoot of the Motor City continues to find it hard to get distributors to accept his that is unique to Ann Arbor. product and initially found that some did not care for his "Detroit music is notoriously modern in its own new label and the music it was releasing. strange way," said Valenti when describing Detroit's for- "The first thing you try doesn't always work. (The) ward thinking sound. entertainment (industry) is notorious because you expect Yet for him, Ann Arbor is "slightly things to happen, and then they don't. removed, and there's also not a huge " v- It's frustrating because you don't scene here, it's not a trendy place." E r n h a know what's real anymore." Valenti Instead, "it's an outsider culture in that encountered several instances where it's removed, but also in tune enough artists wanted to license the label's to take in influence and make it your songs or to work with Ghostly artists own," said Valenti. Ghostly is also a l on material before later backing out. label that wants to use the geography It's like the Justice But there seem to be some signs of the of Ann Arbor to distinguish itself as a fruits of labor. Sam described a recent 0 unique idea and concept - something League experience at a record label office in that became successful locally sepa- New York City. rate from the cultural meccas of - Sam Valenti "They had our (Ghostly's) stuff on Chicago, Detroit and New York. Ghostly International co-founder the wall. When I told them who I was, Therefore, Valenti's strategy remains everyone treated me with a surprising focused on selecting only those artists amount of awe, which is cool. But it "Must See TV" is a relative con- cept these days. NBC claims the title, but CBS is giving the pea- cock a reason to ruffle its feathers. Now, with "ER" on its last legs, CBS has the opportunity to apply the stranglehold. "Without a Trace," a flawed but promising new drama, could be the final leg in CBS' road to Thursday night domination. By focusing the FBI Missing Person's Squad, "Without a Trace" offers viewers a compelling prem- ise. Unlike "Law & Order" and "CSI," there's no dead body; here, the agents have to track down the victim by reconstructing the past 24 hours of his or her life. Having little physical evidence to work with, the squad fills in time gaps by interviewing those who last saw the missing person. If this burden wasn't great enough, the investiga- tors must also determine whether a crime was even committed - some victims disappear by choice or commit suicide. Within these confines, "Without a Trace" operates like a well-oiled machine. The show is fast-paced and almost frantic, but understand- ably so: The longer it takes the agents to put the puzzle together, the harder it becomes to find the missing person. To further along the process, the team splits up for hours and then meets att York FBI Headquarters to DOD (Day of Disappe timeline. The show d+ admirable job at conveying icality of even one mis wrong lead or fake rans can throw the whole inves off-balance. The pilot episode center disappearance of 1 Cartwright, a 28-year- old marketing execu- tive. Headed by Senior agent Jack Malone (Anthony LaPaglia, "Lantana"), the team tries to track her down without any obvious place to start. The woman's apartment is completely intact and her life seems almost perfect. But as the old sayi appearances can be deceiv the team learns of Maggi problem, strained relations her parents and an affai coworker. These clues l agents to Maggie and force to scratch their heads - th is both clever and surprisin "Without a Trace" is re because it puts a face onI tim. By utilizing flashba viewer gets valuable insi the missing person's chara first episode showcases M unconventional relatic remarkably well, particula the New her dad (guest star Bruce Davison fill in a of "X-Men" fame). Since the team arance) of agents uses both psychological loes an profiling and general police work the crit- to track the victim, the show truly step: A leaves no stone unturned. om note On the flipside, however, "With- stigation out a Trace" needs to inject some personality into its agents. Aside s on the from the tough-yet-sensitive Maggie LaPaglia and no-nonsense Mari- anne Jean-Baptiste * ("Secrets and Lies"), the other cast mem- bers are simply going through the motions. WITHOUT A Future scripts need to TRACE play up the sexual tension between Thursdays at 10 p.m. LaPaglia and agent CBS Samantha Spade (Poppy Montgomery, "Blonde"), and beef ng goes, up the roles of agents Danny Tay- ing, and for (Enrique Murciano) and Martin e's drug Fitzgerald (Eric Close). The show's hip with writers should take advantage of r with a the attractive cast and develop ead the their personas, much like they do viewers for the victims. e ending Right now, the cast also seems g. unnecessarily large for the little freshing screen time each of them receives. the vic- But "Without a Trace" is nonethe- cks, the less highly entertaining and full of ght into great ideas. It's hard to say whether cter. The the show will threaten "ER," but Maggie's for the time being, it's a welcome onships diversion for viewers becoming rly with weary of the operating table. that best reflect the unique offerings of electronic musi- cians in the Ann Arbor area. Currently, the label is represented artistically by Ghostly co- founder Matthew Dear, Tadd Mullinix, Charles Manier and electro-acoustic rock band Midwest Product. Valenti met Dear during Welcome Week his freshman year. In 1999, they formed the Ghostly label. Dear acknowledges his affinities in influ- ences as diverse as folk music along with his current interest in "minimal floor-heavy techno" on his Stealing Moves release. was something that came with time, with trying to change people's minds and get them into what we're doing." Ghostly showcases its artists on a regular basis in Ann Arbor at the Club Above, located at 215 N. Main St. above the Ijeidelberg Restaurant. Tonight will feature Matthew Dear and Tadd Mullinix. Midwest Product will perform in Detroit at the Magic Stick with Interpol on Friday. Their website, wwwghostly.com has more information about the artists and label. After Blind Pig performance, Def Jux CEO El-P talks on fans, future courtesy of CBS 1A "West Wing" spin-off? Hardly. By Laurence Freedman Daily Arts Writer El-P is smoking a cigarette on his tour bus outside of the Blind Pig in Ann Arbor over two hours before the steamy club will be packed with a sold-out crowd. The hip-heads are eagerly wait- ing to digest anything and everything he and his Definitive Jux crew have to spew out at them. For the past decade El-P has been at the center of the underground hip-hop revolution, first as a member of seminal indie-rappers Company Flow and now as a solo artist, producer, and CEO of his own Defini- tive Jux records. This is his first time performing in Ann Arbor and he's brought his Def Jux labelmates Mr. Lif, Rjd2, Cage and Copywrite with him. "I want to bring some life to cats. I want to spark something in your heart, in your emotions, in your mind" he says. It's clear to everyone in the club almost four hours after the first beat was dropped that El-P has succeeded. Since leaving Company Flow in 2000, El-P has been busy founding and lead- ing his Def Jux label to the center of the independent hip-hop universe by pro- moting acts like himself whose raw, aggressive and intelligent brand of hip- hop stands in sharp contrast to much of the rap music in the American main- stream. Extremely popular with the col- lege crowd, El-P has earned himself legions of fanatic followers who know every single word to his dark and con- fusing yet undeniably refreshing debut record Fantastic Damage. It's heavy, dis- torted and intricate, just the way he likes it. Accessibility is not a word often associated with El-P's music. "I aim to challenge. I'm not giving you a back- rub. I don't think that it would be hon- est of me to make a record that was relaxed or complacent. I want mother- fuckers to think." Born and bred in Brooklyn, El-P quickly tapped into the heartbeat of his neighborhood, which at the time was being supplied by early hip-hop pio- neers. Especially "New York super- heroes" Run-D.M.C. He can point to the city itself as being a direct influence on his congested, gritty'style of music. "I have a lot of ideas packed into a small place cause that's what it's like in the city - a lot of ideas and a lot of realities packed in really close together. There's a lot of magnificence about it and vitality." Having his own label has certainly facilitated El-P's ability to make the music he wants without having to answer to anyone else. "You'll go crazy if you're worried about response before you even make the music. It's about whether I feel good about it honestly and then I put it out there. You never want to bump heads with other people about your music." Vocal since the end of Company Flow about the way his previ- ous label Rawkus Records treated him and his underground colleagues, El defends his decision to express his dis- satisfaction with Rawkus in his music. "I don't feel obligated to perpetuate some kind of myth about their ethos," he says. "My power is words. If I'm on your bad side, I'll write about it." Honesty is at the core of El-P's music and philosophy. "When you're honest with yourself and you're honest with your music, even if what you're sayin' is not technically correct it's important to an extent." This way of thinking has led him to respect a painfully honest rapper like Eminem. "Everything that he's saying is so valid in the sense that you can trace it back to something. I think he's a little self-aggrandizing but beyond that there's a lot of validity to him. That's respectable." Fans can expect a steady flow of material coming from El-P and Def Jux in the near future including his produc- tion contribution to the yet to be released solo record from Zach de la Rocha, for- merly of Rage Against the Machine. When it comes down to it however, El-P describes himself as a music fan with the power to influence what people listen to, eager to spread the tunes that he loves. "That's my main goal. To take albums that I think are dope albums that should be heard by a lot of people and pimp the system - to do that with integrity and still remain intact." I('