Sophisticado US レコード& CD

Review: Vick Lavander is on fire right now having recently minted Brett Dancer's new label Ethnic Blend Music and now comes back with more of his humid and authentic deep house. This one is also to start a new label - Sophisticado, his own new imprint - and first up is 'Deep Root,' a cosmically included deep house cut with gospel-style organ chords and chunky drums that work you into a lather. 'Hustle' then picks up the pace with more superbly warm chords and this time some Balearic acoustic guitar riffs and impossibly sunny grooves. Life-affirming tackle for joyous dancefloors.

Review: In the world of house music, it's often the B-sides - more adventurous or deeper alternatives to the peak-time-focused lead cut - that often last the test of time. It's a conclusion that Vick Lavender has come to, at least, because this limited-edition EP marks the first in a 'B-Sides Series' in which all cuts are bonuses, alternate takes or 'tributes' to other artists. He begins by paying tribute to Dexter Wansel on 'A Space of My Own', layering dense hand percussion, spacey electronics and intergalactic synth sounds over a rock-solid kick-drum pattern. He then slams down two versions of the King Sporty sampling 'Mr Sporty': the sax-squelch-and jammed-out keys-heavy brilliance of the 'Time Traveler Re-imagined Mix' and the more leisurely, synth solo sporting deep house warmth of the 'Drums & Life' version.