Move D: Quit Quittin'
Uzuri

Uzuri would seem to be taking a page out of the Yore playbook, if Move D's Quit Quittin', the label's second EP, is any indication as David Moufang's four tracks are refined samplings of old-school techno. The EP's best moment, the title track, gets funky with a bass-crawling, acid-techno pulse spiced with handclaps and soulful shout-outs, after which “Jus House” wends a minimal route and adopts smooth synth chords and a funkily swinging lope to help it on its way. The party jam-styled “Sisters & Brothers” impresses less, largely because it sounds too much like an instrumental knockoff of Michael Jackson's “Billie Jean,” with the song's familiar 4/4 stomp and rolling bass line coursing throughout. The EP ends strongly with the insistently grooving and rather trippy “Crashed Jazz.” Coming from someone with Moufang's years of experience, no one should be too surprised that the material's solid, though it's a shame the EP ends just when it feels like it's getting started.

January 2008