As funky house gets endlessly eschewed and tampered with, Defected still stands proud, offering a trustworthy seal of quality that few can only aspire to. Simon Dunmore – the label’s well-known head honcho, a&r and DJ – has stuck all along to what he knows best: classic disco-house. Combining afro & latin flavours, this blueprint originally laid out in the seventies is still working for many. The instrumentation is slick and often live (as if to defy today’s dance productions by numbers) but even more important the tunes always remember that dancing the night away is above all about positive vibes. The Stereo Mutants do particularly well in that register with ‘Tropical Rain’, a jazz-infused workout based on JBs horns, flute and male scat. There are also a dub, a percapella and some bonus beats (file under dub latin house, 126 BPM). On ‘Buddah’ DJD goes all classy balearic. The Latin Spirit mix is summery and loungey (vibes and groovy tribal beat, 128). The Club mix relies on acoustic guitar, horns and Peruvian flute – silky stuff that glides along effortlessly (129).
5 Out Of 5
Reviewed By: JERRY BOUTHIER
