Je Nous Aime

Those sensitive to the iffy whiff of world music as a fashion accessory will probably want to run away fast from Claude Challe's Je Nous Aime (I Love Us). The cover of this LP shows the 55-year-old Parisian DJ and fashion mogul, semi-naked from the waist up, hands clasped together in a prayer position, and covered in headphone cord and a necklace of hippy beads.

Of course we all yearn for a little more significance in our lives and music can often provide that, but not this music. This is where mawkish sentimentality meets predictable "chill-out" beats to create a banquet of sonic fromage that hasn't been seen since Enya left town. Not to be overly harsh, Challe's musical combinations can occasionally be effective, but he doesn't like the word "restraint" and can't resist over-egging the pudding. The result is a handful of tunes that are overly-sentimentalised in an effort to symbolise something other-worldly.

Thankfully the accompanying remix LP is more palatable as producers like Steeve Van Hoecke, Rollercone, Temple of Sound and Northern Comfort strip the tracks down to some softly pulsing four-to-the-floor business. --Paul Sullivan

Label: Unknown
Studio: Challo
Released: 2003-05-26
Format: Audio CD