Quiroga: Really Swing Vol. 1
Really Swing

Out of nowhere comes Vol.1 Really Swing, a delicious six-tracker of sample-based soul-funk and broken beats from Walter Del Vecchio under the Quiroga name—“sample-based soul for free-minded followers,” so we're told. The producer tackles multiple styles in tracks electronically assembled using tape loops, samplers, synthesizers, and assorted other gear. “All Nite” warms a slow soul-funk groove with electric piano sprinkles and peppers it with mutilated soul vocal fragments spun into funky orbit, after which “Batik” changes things up with swinging head-nod speckled with jazzy overtones. There's no shortage of downtempo hip-hop of the old-school variety (e.g., “Liberati Funk”) but Quiroga ventures farther afield too. “Emanuelle Vodoo,” for example, dips its toes into the Latin pool when not digging into its heavy, laid-back 4/4, while “Afyon Oppio” tackles bluesy lounge jazz where wailing saxophones and vibes push their way through dusty webs of vinyl crackle. Devotees of Inner Current's crisp blend of hip-hop, soul, and funk will find much to latch onto in Quiroga's music too. Wonderful stuff.

June 2010