Some of the most inspiring music we’ve heard in years. Track one features plaintive piano and voice that have a” holy” hymn like quality about them, reminiscent of that echoey piano you heard in the school hall. Track two’s real and sampled voices have a tender vulnerability that totally seduces you into a state of utter surrender. The third track’s vocals sound like they were sung by Gizmo from Gremlins, and would sound incongruous if used by anyone without this group’s immense skill. Sigur R?s’s music embraces and strokes all your senses and leaves you with a feeling of calm and sensibility. The accompanying DVD is just as exceptional. This EP is a masterly creative, eloquent and intelligent work. Gracious thanks to Sigur R?s.
Orly Angelo & The Ross Street Hustlers Getting in It
The newly revived Fair Park imprint hits the jackpot with this latest from Orly Angelo, a member of the Select Recordings posse. With smooth and sexy vocals courtesy of Suza Kanon, Angelo delivers a pair of seductive mixes-one deep, one downtempo-while Moisture Control (Waric Cameron and Mike Constantino) smother us in warm, late-night vibes with their two flipside remixes. A winner through and through.
Fish Go Deep Nights Llike These
If you haven’t already heard of Fish Go Deep through their releases on i! Records, Brique Rouge and Chez, you won’t be able to avoid them after this latest Inspirit number drops. With life-affirming vocals courtesy of Tracy Kelliher, them little fishes produce two delicate ditties, while Inspirit’s in-house producer, The Beard, scores a perfect 10 with his “Three Blades Dub.” A huge summer number.
Tony Thomas Inner Space
For over a decade, Tony Thomas has been making techno and house under a slew of aliases, but as of late his tribal-house sound seems to have found a home on Glasgow’s ever-impressive Soma. “Inner Space” is an out-and-out peak-time bomb. Laced with dubbed vocals and echoed keys, the track’s heavy 4/4 beats and hypnotic bongos should appeal to those of an H-Foundation, Onionz and Dano persuasion.
Derrick L. Carter Squaredancing In A Roundhouse Remixes
El Derrick of Carter squares up for two well-rounded mixes of the title track from his 2002 solo debut album. “B. H. Q. Revisits The Classics” has enough boomp for the most devout Chicago heads, while “The Remake” is toned down for deep-house lovers. Two very solid mixes for house heads of all shapes and sizes.
Mettle Music Moodswings
In the year since the release of their Toko debut album, Honeycomb Lounge, Mettle Music’s Nic Conef and Mark Wadsworth have revised their sound to include a much wider variety of influences and textures. Released on Ashford, England’s Bar De Lune, Moodswings builds on the duo’s unrestricted, confident house sound with complex jazz percussion, rich female vocals and superbly layered strings. Perhaps most surprising is “Capture,” which begins (as “Part 1”) with earthy female vocals and sad acoustic guitar melodies only to develop (as “Part 2”) into a digital dub jam that would make Mad Professor proud. By taking a few risks and remaining open to outside influences, the Manchester duo have produced an album that both transcends boundaries and defies categorization, just the way music should. “
Los Chicharrones When the Sun Goes Down
When they were signed to Tummy Touch, Los Chicharrons were a boisterous two-man party, inclined towards funky shenanigans and cheeky Latin licks. With this third LP on their own label, they’ve seemingly transformed into an introspective downtempo act. The elongated arrangements, soulfully slick grooves and warm, supine vibes they’ve embraced here aren’t original enough to stand up as staggering works of genius, but the beats and songwriting are of a decent caliber. Fans may be relieved when the second half of the LP reverts back to their usual madcap antics.
Various Circulation: Colors 2
In the three years that separate the first edition of Colors from this sequel, tech-house dons Circulation seem to have honed their sound into an even more breathy and streamlined affair. Merging their stripped-down, quietly muscular techno with a meandering, druggy ambience, the duo of Paul Davis and Matt Jackson have created a document that veers between ’80s nostalgia, Jarre-esque journeys and edgy escapism. At times, intricate Detroit techno is taken to quietly sublime levels via a forceful primordial pump, but there’s plenty of standard (i.e. mediocre) dancefloor stuff here. With each track representing a different color, this is definitely one for the synaesthetics.
Various Philly Soul
Philadelphia has been a Mecca for soul musicians ever since the likes of Gamble and Huff created timeless music there by The O-Jays, Harold Melvin and Teddy Pendergrass in the early and mid-’70s. This compilation focuses on some of the contemporary soulsters carrying the torch, artists such as King Britt, Jazzy Jeff, Jill Scott, Black Thought, Floetry, Jazzyfatnastees, Bilal, The Philadelphia Experiment, Vikter Duplaix, Ursula Rucker, etc. Though not yet quite as timeless as the Philly soul of the past, these artists have built a foundation for a proud new era.
Third Face Topics In Practical Science
It’s a tad bizarre that downtempo act Third Face-known to friends and close family as Mike Young from Hull-is putting out an LP through one of the UK’s most established jungle imprints. But once you hear it you’ll know why. Not even the eminent Roni Size could resist the gently rippling electronics that stretch out languorously towards infinity and which occasionally come wrapped in heart-warming vocals. Slow, sensual stuff that’s nicely old fashioned in places, this is a great diversion from the Full Cycle massive.
