Dennis Ferrer’s ‘Objektivity’ label has long been a standard bearer for techno / tech house with a deep melodic / soulful vocal edge. Enter Andrea Oliva with ‘4313’ – an album that fits the above brief and more since it is classy in the extreme but a right old rave up when the disco spirit wills him on. Setting the blues and jazz vocal influences in a direct face off with the stomping, rolling techno beats, deep house subs and pop lyrical sensibilities, ‘4313’ is a treat for the ears and the feet, the head and the heart, the mind and the soul.
There are a few interesting collaborations too to add more colour to the palette. Andrea Oliva and Jimi Jules join forces for ‘Fifth River’ a hazy, swirling percussive arrangement that eddies around a bluesy vocal vortex, whilst their second is in ‘Cloud’, a frolicsome techno roller with sand dancing snares, hissing hi-hats, eerie sustained strings, arpeggiated bleeps and a dangerously fast burning fuse. ‘Turn Off The Dawn’ the Fritz Helder joint is a deep, bassline bouncer that has been a ‘get out of jail free’ card in my deeper sets since I reviewed it here some months ago. ‘One Thousand Reasons’ with Moggli is a happy squelch and shuffle through festival tent mud: its reverbed jazzy vocal and weird, wavering tones leading it sometimes by the hand, sometimes stumbling through the densely layered arrangement.
‘Funk Obsession’ is a relentless club banger with a riotous rhythmic groove and a funk vocal and guitar drop that will have jaws ratcheting to the floor and back. ‘Chakras D’Amour’ has a feather light feel (reminiscent of M.A.N.D.Y ‘Body Language’ around the key swells) and bubbles like fine champagne as the vocal pours like artisinal hierbas over ice. There are straight DJ tracks too ‘Empty Lips’, ‘Red Sun / Black Love’, ‘Sleepless Fog’ and the speaker blowing ‘Seven Billion Butterflies’ will keep the rave alive well into the after after hours. Not forgetting the housier ‘Springtimation’ which is an outdoor in the sunshine, double-bass driven dance-off par excellence.
Previously known for its Roman fortifications and the Bata shoes factory, Andrea Oliva’s hometown of Môhlin looks set to become a lot more credible and famous for something way cooler, since its area code 4313 has been hijacked and made des res due to the single handed efforts of its new favourite son and his rather stunning debut album ‘4313’. Respect.
4 out of 5
Reviewed by Paulette
{https://soundcloud.com/objektivity/sets/andreaoliva_4313_snippets}
