...deep, not hard...soulful, not pumping...

current reviews: singles and albums

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last updated: 8th may 2005

 

	aya – "strange flower" [naked music] blue six producer jay denes has linked up with aya to create this touching debut album.  denes spearheaded the original naked music invasion of the 90s, but in recent times, most of his releases haven't reached the heights that captivating earlier efforts like "music & wine" did.  "slippin'" is a lovestruck number, with defenceless acoustic guitars and agitated percussion.  "sean" uses adorable synths, genteel guitars and compassionate vocals to create a spirit-lifting track.  "lullaby for stephen" places solemn guitars and magnetic keys under aya's radiant vocals.  "strange flower" blooms quite spectacularly in places, but many of the tracks could have done with a little more water and nourishment.  (reviewed by jon freer)
	nadirah shakoor – "just a breath away" [yoruba records] after another break from the business of releasing records on his own outstanding label, osunlade returns with a gorgeous call to arms he penned for the angelic nadirah, who lent her voice to his awesome "pride" track.  here, nadirah is once more in an empowering mood, crying for peace over clompy beats and jolly keys.  there are also synth-heavy revisions from franck roger and osunlade himself. (reviewed by jon freer)
	sir piers & los amigos invisibles feat shaun escoffery – "she's gone away" [curious] shuan escoffery is a vocalist to be reckoned with and here he shares the stage with the feisty los amigos invisibles and powerful house don sir piers on this solid dancefloor mover.  the 'curious main mix' from piers contains devastated vocals, clipped drums and well-to-do strings.  his dub yearns for the said lady to return, as fx bitten vocals, floaty keys and deflated strings do the pleading. (reviewed by jon freer)
	shawn christopher / the shadeaux men – “don’t lose the magic / spanish storme” [ith] lifted from dj gregory’s fine ‘in the house’ collection, a couple of dancefloor-inspired cuts from yesteryear get a deserved second single outing. “don’t lose the magic” is a pleading diva-led vocal number, where persuasive singing is backed by synth-horn pushes and bass sighs.  “spanish storme” is a sultry summery number, with steady key stabs, passionate synthetic sirens and a black bass.  dj oji’s ‘spanish funk mix’ sees grandiose keys, cool strings and magical synths meet over exuberant handclap laced beats. (reviewed by jon freer)
	anada project – “raindown” [exceptional] chris ‘anada project’ brann is an incredibly talented producer of luxurious deeper house outings and lush fractured beat driven compositions.  “raindown” features vocals from the wonderful heather johnson, whose angelic tones touched chris’s bewitching “talk show” track, which was released on spiritual life, a little while back.  here, she adds passionate vocals to a track where rubbery beats, a beautiful sax and guitar-tinkles are the strongest elements.  the blu mar ten revision of “breaking down” is an organically toned restful rerub, with sitting back drums, alone keys and a shimmering sax.  louie vega’s ‘revivial mix’ of “breaking down” uses classic guitars, shining synths and loveable keys to complement heather’s pleading vocals. (reviewed by jon freer)
	dave barker – “rocococoa” [classic] sometime production partner of fellow texan house don brett johson, dave barker shows he can also stand on his own two feet with this delectable four tracker on classic.  “what i meant was…” is a run-of-the-mill over-worked bass dominated jumpy affair, whilst “honey” is a twisted synthed up sax-addled stormer.  the title track is an ace quick-stringed mover, as “the general” rounds up the ep with some transporting chord action. (reviewed by jon freer)
	alex moran – “new fish to fry” [3am] alex drops a pair of dancefloor loving stormers the way of 3am, which are two of the jazziest cuts ever to grace this label.  “new fish to fry” heats things up, courtesy of a fat lively bass groove, cool jazz keys and fx pops.  “jazz police” is an excellent soaring saxer, with bright keys, percussive drums (with a hint of dj gregory to them?) and temptess-type vocals. (reviewed by jon freer)
	renovation unlimited feat roy ayers – “antonata” [obliqsound] jazz meets electronic production stylings on this release from renovation unlimited, which sees vibes master roy ayers give the track a little more colour.  at jazz offer a pair of revisions, one where a powering vibraphone and strange reverbing bass hold the attention, and another housier version, with angered keys and a buzzing synth. herbert’s typically disjointed version confuses and enchants, as refixed beats, vocal shouts, key slides and an unhappy bass combine.  the original lets roy’s scatting vocals and vibraphone tinkles dominate proceedings. (reviewed by jon freer)
	siji – “sanctuary” [bbe] follow up to last year's osunlade touched "feels like" - this gets the re-rub in the bbe flava too.  the album is due to be released in mid 2004 and it's something to look forward to. album versions are is a down tempo affair, but the reason why this sits in the house section is for the dj deep and franck roger remix.  a superb reworking that almost seems like the vocals were written with this track in mind! for those who have a wider vision of music check out the deeper 'fujisoul' remix.

 

	v/a – heartbeat: compiled & mixed by julius papp [loveslap!] papp is one of those us house heads who's better known for making tracks than for giving them a whirl on turntables in a club.  however, this outstanding comp proves papp has an ear for selecting the finest in contemporary soul-kissed house.  he kicks off the cd with marlon d's "uc anthem", a togetherness fostering number with floor conscious beats, far-sighted keys and a spirit raising sax and flute combo.  quentin harris brings us "episode 4", a heavy-hearted escapade, where unworldly keys stroll alongside screwed-up synths.  the audiowhores revision of connie harvey's "thank you lord" is a blemishless slice of gospel driven house, as blemishless guitars and heavenward gazing strings back connie's praising vocals.  another truly heart-warming instalment from san fran's first-rate loveslap imprint. (reviewed by jon freer)
	various – “beats and pieces volume three” [bbe] the 'nod to the left side' compilation returns with an excellent selection to cover most genres thus keeping most of you happy.  twenty-two tracks in all on the cd that has some of the fairly recent house joints - some probably won't make it to cd. along with some down tempo tracks and some jazz, funk and afro outings.  for the house heds we have 'timbuktu' by jerome and ferrer, dj gregory 'don't know malendro', george levin's '(i got) somebody new' - whilst on the down tempo tip; i:cube feat rza 'can you deal with that', d'nell 'this thing' and stateless 'fall into you' to mention a few...if you missed out on a few recent releases, this is highly recommended.
	various – “osunlade presents the yoruba soul remixes” [bbe] it was bound to happen and it was just matter of who got there first.  puerto rico resident osunlade has produced some of the finest remixes in the last few years and props to bbe for putting this together. here we see a mixed selection demonstrating how varied he can be whilst maintaining consistency with trademark sounds:  percussive, afro-driven, deep and soulful. for those who have missed out on the classic 'don't change' feat erro can have a chance to own it on cd now...don't be fooled by dodgy versions appearing on labels beginning with the last letter of the alphabet!  more house orientated shazz 'all i wanna give you' keep the house crowd happy and the awesome 'i might do something wrong' should keep everyone happy! the vinyl comes in three slabs and has the 'full suite' version of incognito's 'on the road' - not on the cd.  okay - i might as well mention all the tracks - but i won't.  worth the effort!
	v/a – “this is what radio should sound like” [fivesixrecordings] the regal philly house and soul master gives us a taste of what he’d like to hear blasting out of us stations.  his vision for radio is one where gorgeous downtempo grooves cohabit with minor keyed house-floor offerings and thought-provoking broken hitters.  ellie perez’s “in so many ways” is melancholic tender number, with strange shaped single guitar lines, a silken bass and devoted vocals.  the ‘michelle mix’ version of michelle shaprow’s spellbinding “if i lost you” uses a rolling bass to carry along those love-giving vocals and mysterious keys.  “red shift” by justin paul takes roughly four/four shaped beats, wobbling synths and agitated flutes on a magical journey.  whether the masses that tune into commercial radio would agree with the king’s statement is questionable.  however, i’m sure i’m not the only person who would welcome the uk’s radio 1 playlisting more varied material in the daytime and supporting more up and coming talent, instead of leaving the risk taking to specialist night-time shows.  (reviewed by jon freer)
	v/a – “unclassics” [environ] the tracks on this cd have their origins in a period that stretched from the late 70’s to the mid 80’s, when disco was not the force it had once been. plucked from obscurity and spliced together by future-disco revolutionary morgan geist, many of the tracks on this cd have a definite post-disco feel and take their strength from simple space-age melodies and clean keyed grooves. discotheque’s “disco special” is a guitar-laced cut, with sassy strings and fizzing cosmic synths.  plastic mode’s “baja imperial” induces vertigo in a pleasant manner (if that’s possible), as circling synths and a melodically similar bass spend the entirety of the track chasing their tails.  purple flash’s “we can make it” is a lovely instrumental number, where romantic keys dominate proceedings.  whilst not all of the tracks here are awe-inspiring, some of them do have an incredible beguiling quality and sound fresher today than many recent retro outings. (reviewed by jon freer)
	various  – “many shades of house” [nordic trax] vancouver’s nordic trax imprint specialises in the kind of magical house grooves, which contain enough musicality to appease those who like real melodies, but also have enough of a technified element to get them grooving all night long.  this selection from label boss luke mckeehan shows that house can be intelligent, fun and dancefloor pleasing all night long.  cd 1 is a mixed affair, which includes moisture control’s key-centric rerub of rithma’s “the gypsie dance” and andrew macari’s simple mr. fingers tribute, entitled “seven of nine”.  the 2nd disc is an all nordic trax based affair, featuring a number of tracks from the label’s impressive back catalogue.  this selection includes the gripping flugelhorn laced “deepenit” from scott findley and halo varga’s watery revision of morgan page feat collete’s “all i need”.  spacified house for those who like it that bit deeper! (reviewed by jon freer)
	theo parrish – “parallel dimensions” [ubiquity records] sometimes politicised (“major moments of instant insanity”), distressingly weird (“dellwood ii”) or intensely hypnotising (his re-rub of a neo soul damsel’s “slowly, surely”), theo parrish’s music sets him apart as a true maverick. theo operates under his own rules, pushing the boundaries so far back on themselves that they snap.  this outstanding collection, at home on the innovative ubiquity label, got a super-limited outing on mr. parrish’s much fabled sound signature imprint, back in 2000.  the tracks, which represent the less eccentric side of theo’s repertoire, exude a timelessness characteristic of compositions from musical genii.  “serengeti echoes” pays tribute to the plains of a natural beauty, courtesy of casually bounced afroid percussion, a shadowing bass and confident chords.  “reaction to plastic” is a sickening yet strangely captivating bass rumbler, with jabbing synthetics that pollute your mind and vicious striking beats.  “summertime is here” encapsulates the spirit-lifting dawn of the warmest season, as angelic vocals exclaim, a beautiful brass section harmonizes as one and vivid keys twinkle.  mr. parrish is a truly innovative producer in a modern electronic music scene whose strength is subdued by copycats, posers and fakers.  whilst some represent the exterior, tasteless crust of the musical pie, theo is one of those who symbolize the nourishing meat.    (reviewed by jon freer)