Review: Eric Hilton - Sound Vagabond (Montserrat House)

Eric Hilton if half of Thievery Corporation but his new album, Sound Vagabond, is no 50% effort, in fact it's more than 100% essential this year.

Thievery Corporation, as one of the early exponents of trip-hop, downtempo, dubby beats, making their name with Bebel Gilberto as one of Gilles Peterson's favourite tracks on the late 1990's, 'So Com Vocé', forming the ESL label and being sought after remixes ever since.

Since 2020 Eric has been just as busy as 'Sound Vagabond' is his sixth album on his own Montserrat House label.  Don't think for a moment he's not got the enthusiasm for a 14 track instrumental album as this sound vagabond has travelled the world and picked up so many influences that the album is a proper melting pot but not sloppy; all tracks are as sharp as the 60s mod artwork.

With such a history of making music with samples and remixing, it is incredible that the album has been formed with some free library music as a backbone.  From the opening track, hip-hoppy harp with 60s organ on 'Endless Affair' (like a modern day Thomas Crown) to the last track 'Lumi' (that possible encapsulates the whole album) you'll be thinking, "this is my favourite" track as it's quality throughout.

If you push me, 'Poppy Fields' is a fantastic mix of 60s cinematic Indo-funk acid jazz and the longest tracks on the album, 'Mumbai Hustle' (very sexy) and the dreamy jazz beats of 'Cerro Alegre' are mesmeric; along with 'The Grand Intro'.

This album has been inspired by many global influences and as an album for the world, the only problem with this album is tht all the tracks could be longer as they are so good and whilst we loved his album with Natalia Clavier, 'Corazón Kintsugi' from last year (see review HERE), 'Sound Vagabond' is even better! 

Artist: Eric Hilton  

Title: Sound Vagabond 

Release date: 23rd February, 2024

Label : Montserrat House
 

Catalog Number : MH027 Digital / Bandcamp 

 

Review: Eric Hilton with Natalia Clavier - Corazón Kintsugi (Montserrat House)

Eric Hilton has been on the boarders of house for nearly 30 years as half of the seminal Theivery Corporation and together with singer Natalia Clavier, the new release on the Montserrat House label, 'Corazón Kintsugi' shows how to use all that experience to craft something special.

Those house boarders have long been on the trip-hoppy jazz side, like the tone set by the title track 'Corazón Kintsugi' featuring the dreamy vocals of Argentinian singer-songwriter Natalia Clabier (who you may recall on the "Theives" album 'Saudade', one of 12 albums that they made over the years).

If you need a more of a Latin jazz-funk dancefloor vibe, 'Nene', 'Tres Sesenta' and 'Cada Vez' are the ones with a groovy bassline that nealy steals Natalia's performance. 

Hilton (as Theivery Corp.) was so influencial (as masters of the trip/dub/downtempo/future jazz genre and check their many remixes including our favourites Rockers HiFi) and with tracks like 'Amor Astral' and 'Divagar' he's lost none of the cross-over elegance (and he plays nearly all the instruments on the album) plus Clavier's Spanish/Portuguese vocals perfectly fit the Latin-world trip vibe.

Fans of Antiques Roadshow to Flog It! will know that Kintsugi is the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery with gold/silver/platinum dusted lacquer.  And being Japanese, it almost goes without saying that there's a philosophy at the heart of the process, the breakage and repair beng the history of the object rather than something you should attermpt to hide.  And Corazón is Spanish for heart - did you see what they did there?

Clearly, there's nowt broken or in need of repair on these nine tracks: lets dub out with 'Luna'.

Artist: Eric Hilton with Natalia Clavier 

Title: Corazón Kintsugi

Release date: 29th September, 2023

Label : Montserrat House
 

Catalog Number : MH026 Digital / Bandcamp