Review: AC Soul Symphony - Metamorphosis (Album) (Z Records)

Dave Lee (producer of a thousand aliases) seems to be in a pretty good position right now, he can do whatever he wants. Right now that thing is revisiting loads of great music and making it DJ-friendly.

Well, he’s been doing that for a while actually, but this project is slightly different—he’s not remixing, they’re recreations that incorporate live string and wind sections. Essentially, it’s him getting to MFSB some great tunes—including quite a few that they never played on. For example TV show themes (“Six Billion Dollar Man”), songs about Chicago (“Windy City Theme” —MFSB were legendary Philadelphia musicians who played on hits like “For The Love of Money”, “You Can’t Hide From Yourself” and of course “T.S.O.P. - The Sound of Philadelphia.”)

In with some wonderful covers are originals that totally fit in with the slightly retro-vibe. “Philly Avengers” & “AC Express” in particular tricked me—looking at the songwriters info, I was surprised by how many tunes Mr Lee wrote or had a hand in. Not because I had doubts about his skill, but because they so seamlessly fit in amongst classic material which, in his own words, was “orchestrated by some of the best who ever lived.”

I can unreservedly recommend this to anyone who enjoys soulful disco sounds—Barry White’s Love Unlimited Orchestra, Salsoul/MFSB and of course on of the other main inspirations, David Shire (whose “Manhattan Skyline” gets covered.)



Artist: AC Soul Symphony

Title: Metamorphosis

Release date: October 27, 2023

Label : Z Records

Catalog Number :  Zedd12369 LP / CD / Digital / Bandcamp   .

Review- Rise Ashen and Boddhi Satva - Universality (Balanced Records)

Like many people, I haven’t always understood House music. However, I do understand spiritual things and soul things. Not “understand” in the sense of intellectual knowledge, but in the sense of having experienced them, knowing how it feels when they happen.

Some of my earliest memories are of music in a spiritual context—people coming together in celebration of the universal, transcendent unknown. We only have metaphors to help us grapple with its vast, incomprehensible greatness. The dancing, clapping of hands, closed eyes and electric joy shared among the gathered as the outward expression of music taking us to another plane beyond everyday existence.

Boddhi Satva and Rise Ashen invoke this same space beyond any divisions we normally allow to separate us in “Universality.” That is, House music as “church” or “ritual.” Boddhi vocally encourages us to step beyond boundaries we think of as our identities, while his music with collaborator Rise Ashen slips past our conscious mind with its hypnotic rhythms plus warm, enveloping bass and coaxes us to sway, possibly put our hands together to keep time and even shut our eyes to “tune in.”

This is Spiritual House in its truest sense, music that connects one’s spirit to a ritual reminding us of the universality of our being as a species. Hopefully it could also help you understand House music—if you don’t already.



Artist: Rise Ashen and Boddhi Satva
Title: Universality
Release date: March 3, 2023
Label: Balanced Records
Catalog Number: BAL-58

Review: DJ Spinna - The Sound Beyond Stars: The Essential Remixes (BBE Music)

Spinna was an icon of the indie hip-hop scene who switched rides on an early lap some way round the course of his DJ/production career, and, if he hasn’t yet reached the finishing-line, has accumulated trophies already in the form of some sizeable dance hits. The biggest of those, his mix of Shaun Escoffery’s ‘Days Like These’ is inexplicably not on either of the two lavish double albums (one track per side apart from LP 1, side C, which has two) this comes as, though it IS found on the CD. That early release (and its immediate predecessor, ‘Space Rider’ which was particularly big in New York) immediately put Spinna up there with the big boys in the world of house, and he’s stayed there pretty much ever since. If there’s a better vocal record in the last few years, I’d like to hear it (and please post it to me via this site)!
 
A high proportion of the material here is also vocal, but there are a couple of deeper, techier instrumental  tracks to spice up the vibes (and one of those, his Acid Power mix of Karizma ‘The power’ seems to be exclusive to the vinyl). Anyone who likes their house music rooted in the black American tradition will find much to enjoy here, but don’t expect four sides of gospel-style wailing. The original material is quite disparate, but there’s a marked tendency for Spinna to work with bands, and tracks that start out more ‘musical’ in the first place. A Spinna sound, grooving and funky, but never ‘hard’,  unites all the material here. A few personal favourites: Louie Vega with Raul Midon ‘A Better Day’, like sounding like a 21st century Jose Feliciano.; Fertile Ground, ‘Live In The Light’ –fierce, spiritual – and Tortured Soul ‘Why’, deep and dark. This is a well-deserved first retrospective for someone that’s helping to keep alive a vital strain of our dance music heritage.

The Sound Beyond Stars is available on vinyl, CD and MP3 directly from BBE
Or via iTunes

Review: DJ Oil - Phantom (BBE Music)

A quick look at Discogs tells us that DJ Oil previously had a solo album out a few years back on Discograph, which totally passed this writer by. When I wondered why I realised I had pretty much given up on the trip-hop genre, which was so ubiquitous through the ‘90s and noughties, but fell off the radar as it became ever more ‘ambient’ and unchallenging.  Well, this release should have said radar beeping furiously, because it’s anything but soporific mood music. DJ Oil has definitely put the ‘hop’ –hip-hop’s urban grittiness—back into trip-hop, while the trip is all about our lives now, more often a nightmare than a hazy escapist fantasy. This impression is conjured by his inventive use of rousing spoken-word passages, field recordings and an array of cool analogue and digital effects.

It turns out DJ Oil, Frenchman Lionel Corsini, was part of The Troublemakers, an acclaimed group who (uniquely) had albums out on both deep house label Guidance and legendary jazz label Blue Note. That tells you something of his affiliations to African-American music, and it’s this rootedness in that musical tradition that really sets this apart from other contemporary downtempo efforts.  It has more to do with James Brown, Fela Kuti and John Coltrane than  it does the chocolate-box confections that had seemed to sound the death-knell of the trip-hop genre (we won’t name names because we’re sure you’ve nodded off to them all yourselves), and it’s hard not to see the Black nationalist rhetoric  as also a coded commentary on contemporary France in the light of recent events. This will keep its place in my boxes alongside contemporary downtempo beat-makers as diverse and brilliant as Madlib, Nightmares On Wax, Fredric Galliano and Boards of Canada.

Buy now via at iTunes: geni.us/DJOilPhantom
CD / Vinyl at: www.bbemusic.com

Review: Karizma - Beats & Bobs Vol. 2 [R2 Records]

There are producers that feel the need to throw the kitchen sink at their tracks, smothering them in every effect and process imaginable. Karizma is not one of them. The latest in his Beats & Bobs series on R2 Records is remarkable for its infectious simplicity and stripped back grooves.

The opener “Klearkut” features a steady, bumpy afro-tech build overlaid with multi-textured percussive and melodic stabs and flows. A tough kick steers the track away from noodling territory and drive the simple melodies to a place where a subtle bass line and some unobtrusive squelches somehow add up to much more than the sum of this track’s parts.

The 10 minute “Earth These Beats” opens with a naggingly familiar old skool breakbeat and hypnotic, catchy stabs, rolling bumpily along through a series of nicely constructed breakdowns that will keep any dance floor on its toes.

All too often chefs ruin perfectly good ingredients by simply trying too hard. It takes skill and bravery to present a dish with a few simple ingredients, perfectly handled. But that’s exactly what Karizma has done with this release, and it’s refreshing to hear.

Beats & Bobs Vol.2 is out on October 27th.

Review: Andre Bonsor - Elements Of Nature (Adaptation Music)

As some very welcome spring sunshine flooded through the windows of our Brighton HQ, we found this rather special EP lurking in our inbox, which provides the perfect soundtrack to our Sunday.

If you're not familiar with Andre Bonsor by name, you may well know his music from his sterling work with Nottingham production outfit Schmoov! throughout the late nineties. Believe it or not, this is his first solo effort using his real name, and a rather lovely offering it is too.

The release contains all the musicality and positive vibes we have come to expect from Schmoov!, but with a real sense of individuality. Disco influenced, feel good deep house we call it, and it really makes us long for those summer beach parties. The release is dropping just in time for Miami, and we can certainly see this record working well by the pool.

Release Date: 6th March 2012 (Traxsource) / 9th April 2012 (Full Release)

BUY ON TRAXSOURCE