- Premiered two years ago on Benji B's BBC Radio 1xtra show Deviation ahead of 2009 Carnival season, "Dancing" was first heard as a fierce steel-drum led riddim backed by a swinging Zed Bias broken beat before the big reveal some months later that it was in fact the first new material from pioneering UK soul singer Omar since 2006's "Sing If You Want It." Lyrically, "Dancing" is a straight-up party jam focusing on picking up a fine lady in a club. It's definitely not Omar's deepest work, yet Omar would be no less compelling singing "Happy Birthday." The teeth in the vocal department come from a razor sharp sixteen bars by Fox, who adds a little more rough-and-tumble to the proceedings, suiting the overall spirit of the beat perfectly.
How Zed Bias managed to make swinging Caribbean pans with gritty British contemporary club music and classic soul vocals is anyone's guess and it's part of the reason why he remains such a treasure to the scene. But even he cannot better the Omar original "It's So," which gets a remix on the flip. A blaring horn-blasted, double bass belter from "Sing…," "It's So" has been a DJ staple for years, whose charm has been in its almost Nuyorican feel, which is sadly stripped of its swing and given a much more rigid beat on top. That and the fact that some extra elements (such as some disco strings and acoustic guitar) have been added to "Dancing," means this package runs the risk of being overcooked. That it's been liberated with a vinyl release ahead of Zed Bias' brand new studio album, however, is a cause for celebration.
TracklistA Omar & Zed Bias – Dancing
B1 Omar & Zed Bias – Dancing (Instrumental)
B2 Omar – It's So... (Zed Bias Remix)