Third World

Dominic Miller - Third World (Q-rious music)

When Dominic Miller is not on tour with his boss Sting, he works at his own projects or plays in an acoustic duet with Neil Stacey. Dominic's solo-album is surely a surprise for those who only know him as the sideman of Sting. He turns out to be an acoustic fan with a preference for nylon-string sounds and presents a more quiet and thoughtful side. But his music also contains grooves and world-musical aspects. Interesting to see is his affinity towards classical and contemporary music which guarantees an interesting musical mixture. Third World is graceful, thoughtful, slow, soft and gentle. Many guitarists, who walk out of the shadow of their sideman-existence, decay to technical show-off and want to show what they really can do. Dominic Miller is a laudable exception. Of course he is gifted, but in the most musical way without posing. Third World is mainly played in overdub-duet with himself. Keyboards are rarely used, as are loops and sounds. Pino Palladino (bass), Miles Bould (Drums and Percussion) and Kipper (keyboards) add their parts. The result is an atmospherical production, which totally follows unexciting its river and moves stylisticly between latin, jazz, classic and pop. Millers nylon-string sound is conspicuously clear and pure. This affects of the instruments used: the string-virtuous played mainly with an electrified solid-body nylon-string, which creates an easy chilly sound-aesthetic. But this clean and dry sound is in good hands with Dominic Miller and supports the transmission of silence and calmness. (Thanks go to our anonymous translator!) 

© Akustik Gitarre | Mar/Apr 2004

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