LORD ECHO レコード& CD

Review: This "Special Edition" of Lord Echo's recent third full-length, Harmonies, seems to be aimed at DJs. Whereas the original pressing contained the same tracks on one piece of wax, this version stretches the same tracks over two super-loud, heavyweight records. Formatting aside, the album itself is something of a head-in-the-clouds, feet-on-the-floor treat. It features the Kiwi producer working with a range of collaborators - Tony Laing of Fat Freddy's Drop and regular studio buddy Mara TK included - to serve up intoxicating cuts that brilliantly fuses reggae, dub and rocksteady rhythms with elements borrowed from disco, Afro-soul, Afro-funk, spiritual jazz and, more surprisingly, techno. It's a hugely vibrant and entertaining set, offering a good balance between dancefloor vibrations and more laidback concoctions.

Review: Soundway Records' marketing team recently described Lord Echo's hook-up with Mara TK, "Sweetest Meditation", as a "high-rolling summertime opus". It's certainly rather good and well worthy of a dedicated 12" single release. The wonderful, jazz-flecked, vibraphone-heavy, dub-disco style original version is featured alongside a brand new Black Ark style instrumental dub (appropriately titled "The Sweetest Dub") which is almost worth the entrance money on its own. There are two fresh remixes, too, from old pal Julien Dyrne and the Lord himself. His "Club Mix", completed on a recent European tour, pushes it further towards leisurely vocal deep house territory whilst retaining many of the elements that made the original version such a sun-kissed summer treat.