Solomun - Dance Baby

While Diynamic buddy Stimming often gets the lion’s share of the praise, labelmates H.O.S.H. and Solomun have both turned out countless memorable moments in the recent year, injecting deep house with live instrumentation, colourful sounds and a sense of…well, dynamism that is often missing from the scene’s endlessly-looping sample-based productions. Stimming’s artist album missed a trick, so we were keen to hear how Solomun’s effort would fare.  
It’s an unassuming start to the CD, with Country Song’s simple stripped-down groove – an early evening invitation to the dance floor with live bass, coming across like a warm-up set of its own. What sound like snippets of Pharrell intermingle with some rootsy vocal samples to add a bit of spice to the package. As soon as those melancholic, muted organ chords waft in on the second track, Boys In The Hood, you’re aware that perhaps you’re in for something more special. Muggy bass, tumbling percussion and high-pitched stutters give it a dusty old French house feel.
 
His musical heritage is clearly worn on the sleeve of this album. Cloud Dancer goes for a nouveau funk twist – Ole Soul's vocal hass got a bit of Chic about it, and a delicious bass groove that urges you to shake your thing. The classic house strings and all-too-familiar bassline of Hypnotize hark back to the ‘80s in a classy way, while After Rain Comes Sun once again shows his strength at arranging lush string melodies. Blackout sees him indulge a love of techno, albeit in a subtle way, using housey sounds to conjure up that deep, hypnotic, rolling feel, while Deep Circus goes off on a jazzy tangent with its warped keys.
 
Penultimate track Forever ushers us towards a sublime, epic climax, with its subtle, brooding held notes, breathy vocal snippets and delicate, minor-keyed melodies. Closer Story Of My Life is his masterstroke; a slow-burning, plodding piece of electronic soul that comes across like the best thing Booka Shade never recorded, with its catchy vocal loop, heady chimes and rising strings. It’s absolutely sublime, and shows that here we have a hugely talented musician and producer.
 
The high points in this debut collection are magnificent, while other tracks simmer away a bit less potently – but always with a cohesive sound that blends subtlety, warmth and groove together. His skill with sampling is showcased throughout, as is all-round musicality, bonding elements of the past with his contemporary influences. It’s not quite a classic, but a charming, hugely listenable album of 4/4 house grooves that ties together well and occasionally stuns. More please.