The man formally known as Transcenden has been making records for over ten years straddling styles from 80s synth-pop to breaks. A self-confessed crate-rummaging record fiend, he started working in Dave Marino’s New York studio and now finds himself constructing an entire album out of his collection. It’s a welcome alternative to ringtone laptop hell which seems to boast the soul of a wasp as classic, J.B.’s-era funk beats are set up then sprinkled with delights like Aretha on the opening ‘Neptune’s Minty Trident’ or Otis Redding singing ‘Amen’ in ‘To The Evening Red And Morning Grey’, all peppered with a gamut of horns, guitars and ‘get down’ exhortations culled from a legion of vinyl biscuits and woven seamlessly like a comfy pair of funky drawers. For an old funker like me it’s sheer bliss, the guitar-brass interplay on the hypnotic ‘Ode To Cap’n Gaye’ worth the admission alone. He even tackles haunting ambience on ‘When The Waves Turn The Minutes To Hours’ before Derrick May’s ‘Nude Photo’ makes a surpise appearance on the closing ‘The Sight Of Land Ne’er Sweeter’ – accompanied by breaks, soul girl bite, cinematic strings, brass and plaintive guitar! Defiantly old school, a joy to listen to and obviously made with love.
5 Out Of 5
Reviewed By: Kris Needs
