Published by James July 31st, 2006
in Album, Review and 2006.
I first discovered the two names behind this double-disc set one trip to NYC where on a hot August afternoon a clerk slid copies of DJ Heather’s Tangerine and Colette’s In The Sun over the counter and with much gravitas recommended them both. Colette and DJ Heather at the time were part of Superjane and their work was generating plenty of buzz but sadly as life caught up I fell behind on their work along with everything else going on on the club circuit. Needless to say when I saw the two of them collaborating again and on the heels of last year’s sublime Hypnotized I found myself dancing like only a middle-aged white man from the suburbs can.
House of Om features many of the Om Records royalty from Caldwell to Kaskade and the first disc, a breezy and light journey, belongs to Colette. Her track selections are warm and expansive carrying that fat, round San Francisco sound out to the setting sun in a blissfully trance like way. “What Will She Do For Love”, from 2005’s Hypnotized, makes an early appearance with a high energy remix by Andy Caldwell that bangs its way from beginning to end with a huge back beat and an early 80’s Disco flair in the last couple of minutes which gently slips into the sublime minimalism of Late Night Alumni’s reworking of “I Knew You When”. The Latin tinged “No Problem” with its shuffling rhythm section and bouncing piano line, vaguely reminiscent of Rhythim Is Rhythim’s “Strings of Life”, provides a sharper flavor to the mix.
DJ Heather’s set settles into a late night Deep House mix that is at once spare and soulful; her aim appears to keep bodies moving and she does this through a tight mix with a focus on razor sharp beats. In contrast to Colette’s set, Heather’s is built around transitions and mixing artistry as she works groups of songs that are shorter and closer related yielding a greater sense of continuity. The passage from “Jus Trippin”, “Getting There”, to “To Do” is a great example as she steps from stiff tech driven beats to a warmer soul sound driven by a organ and saxophone line that will put a hitch in your step. Heather also takes a turn at the mic on the East Coast Boogiemen’s track “Picture of You” where she floats in indistinct and hazy with breathy vocals adding to the overall stickiness of the cut.
House of Om is a solid set and both discs stand well on their own buoyed by their individual strengths, be it Colette’s vocals or Heather’s instincts behind the decks. Highly recommended. You can grab a copy over at eMusic.
Published by James July 26th, 2006
in Album.
I was all fired up to write up my thoughts on the new Colette and DJ Heather collaboration House of Om when a summer cold struck me soundly between the eyes (and nose). with my sniffling, sneezing, and general woolly-headedness I can barely string two sentences together (actually that’s no different than any other day). So shifting gears I thought I would profess my love for the art of continuous mixes.
Most DJ albums are intended to be played back in a continuous manner so as to best approximate a live set feel; CDs are mastered with cross fades and individual tracks often feel out of place when not nestled in and among the surrounding tracks. When these albums are presented in MP3 format something is lost; the three second gap breaks the cross fade and introduces a feeling that each track should be discrete when it really isn’t. Thankfully, some labels have been releasing some albums as one giant MP3 to preserve the feel of the mix.
Renaissance has been the best label to find these types of tracks as many of their DJ albums will find two releases on eMusic, a tracks based one and later a continuous mix. Below are some of my favorites that they have released.
James Zabiela - ALiVE
John Digweed - Transitions
Renaissance The Masters Series: Hernán Cattáneo Vol. 1
Renaissance The Masters Series: Hernán Cattáneo Vol. 2
Renaissance Presents Nic Fanciulli
Renaissance - The Masters Series Part 7: Dave Seaman
For a whopping eleven tracks you can drown yourself in over thirteen hours of music. Not only a serious bargain but a blissful way to spend the better part of the day.
Published by James July 5th, 2006
in Free Tracks, Album, Review and 2006.
Before I start babbling about Caldwell’s latest I just wanted to publicly pat myself on the back as I am listening to the album off my remote server using the most excellent SSHFS, which essentially allows me to mount a remote share locally through a secure tunnel–in plain speak my music at home is availble to me when I’m not. If you are at all interested you can check out my write up here.
Back to the music.
Universal Truth is not a ground breaking album. You are not going to be shaken to your core by chances taken and glimpses of genius in phrasing and composition. However, if you are a House head with a penchant for Disco, like myself, than this album will please. From the Cock-Rock opening “Runaway” to the Cruel Summer-esque “The Real” Caldwell delivers up sticky hooks and infectious beats. Not all the tracks thump along as some slow burners like “The Question” are tossed in to cool things down for a moment.
At the end of the disk is the most sublime track, excellent in nearly all of the singles that have come out but this incarnation is the perfect summer sound. It has just the right combination of Samba shimmy, R&B chorus, and sleepy Bossa shuffle. Of all the tracks Caldwell has written and produced this, by far, is my favorite as it captures his optomistic spirit and knack for shimmering House beats but recasts it into a sweetened beach number where you can almost feel the sand between your toes in the final refrain.
Sample some of his tracks over at music.download.com including three tracks from Universal Truth or just head over to eMusic or Amazon and grab it.
