Andy Vaz featuring Niko Marks: Don't Lose Your Mind
Delsin
Andy Vaz's latest outing isn't issued on his own Yore imprint but instead on Delsin (the first sixty copies in a transparent vinyl format). But the change in venue hasn't brought about a corresponding move away from the kind of soulful deep house that was heard to such ravishing effect on last year's Straight Vacationing collection. Don't Lose Your Mind finds Vaz serving up two takes on the same track, with both featuring the smooth vocal stylings of Niko Marks.
“Don't Lose Your Mind (Soul Vocal Mix)” gets underway with a tight 4/4 bounce that Vaz enlivens with warm synth shimmer, funky bass lines, and a vocal by Marks that's sultry and soaring by turn. The groove deepens and the arrangement fleshes out even more when a tenor saxophonist adds his wail to the proceedings (though the player's not credited, I'm guessing it's Andreas Pasternack who contributed to Straight Vacationing). The flip's “Don't Lose Your Mind (House Dub Mix)” is a tad slinkier by comparison but no less soulful, with this time Vaz sprinkling the groove with electric piano and Pasternack on board from the outset. Though it's a denser mix and a tad more urgent, too, both versions exude a summery, free-spirited vibe that goes down smoothly in these sweat-drenched days.July-August 2012