textura

Albums
Bayaka Pygmies
Maya Beiser
James Blackshaw
Caffeine Patrol
Call Super
Andrea Carri
Causa Sui
Matthew Collings
Philip Corner
Crandell & Timson
Gareth Dickson
Dryft
Jordan Dykstra
Roman Flügel
Future 3
Graveyard Tapes
Hildur Gudnadottir
Mary Halvorson
Hecq
Idlefon
Yuta Inoue
Jacaszek & Kwartludium
Franz Kirmann
Lachrylic
Machinone
Null
Ocoeur
Octet Ensemble
Oliveros/Rothenberg/Hill
Glen Porter
Gabriel Prokofiev
Rob Reed
Steve Roach
The Sticks
Tangent
Tapage
Taylor | Grosse
Transllusion
Weathers & Chrisman
yMusic
Yokotsuka Yuuya

Compilations / Mixes
Calyx & TeeBee
Deetron
Total 14

EPs / Cassettes / Mini-Albums / Singles
Blu Mar Ten
Break / Fields
Elika
William Ryan Fritch
Andy Vaz

Andy Vaz: It's OK
Yore

More than just okay, the thirty-first release on Andy Vaz's Yore imprint is, at certain moments, downright fabulous. A four-track release available in twelve-inch vinyl and digital formats, It's OK makes good on the label's commitment to deep house music in its opening cut in particular, an ecstatic slice of soulful vocal house called “Love You Forever” that sees Vaz collaborating with Detroit-based keyboardist, singer, and producer Niko Marks. Long-time Vaz followers might be startled by how great a difference there is between his earlier output (the Sound Variation series, for example) and this latest cut, but its effervescent character won't be denied. Marks' raw vocal's a major drawing card, naturally, but the track's instrumental make-up—a classic disco-house groove royally powered by a low-slung bass line, congas, and warm acoustic piano and Rhodes playing—is just as appealing.

The second cut, a steamy and driving remix by Detroiter Malik Alston of Vaz's “Hurry, Hurry,” is strong, too, especially when its acidy synth pulses—a Vaz signature—are accompanied by a swinging groove and jazzy tenor sax soloing. While not pitched at the same ecstatic level as the opener, it's a high-energy affair, too, that derives much of its strength from its smooth “Do you feel the way I do” vocal refrains and sax wail. Vaz's attention to detail likewise comes to the fore during “U Did me Wrong” in the ear-catching way the phased-in female vocal swoops into position (the “B” in “Baby, you did me wrong,” specifically) to join the funky beat pattern, gurgling synths, and Rhodes chords.

If there's, comparatively speaking, a weak cut on the twenty-eight-minute release, it's “Worst Fantasies,” which at eight minutes is overlong and features a voiceover by Andre Da Bishop that's less smooth than it could be. It starts promisingly by laying out gurgling acid-synth patterns and an hypnotic sound and rhythmic design, but a mouthful such as “I knew all along that you were telling lies and I still can't wait to be in between your thighs” ends up feeling like too many syllables for the space available, and the vocal often feels rushed as a result. Still, three out of four ain't bad, and, for that matter, the EP earns its recommendation on the strength of “Love You Forever” alone.

October 2014