- Raw, high-tech jazz flourishing from within the Detroit house tradition.
- Think of a Detroit house track and you probably think of a dusty sample, swinging beatdown drums or that deep chord shifting technique. But any number of Theo Parrish or Unirhythm records reveal Motor City house to be an alien funk. There's a decidedly experimental counterpart to the warm, disco-derived sound.
It's within this rarified zone that the North Carolina-raised, Detroit-based artist Julion De'Angelo crafts future-forward house experiments. His latest 12-inch, for the Tokyo-based label Freedom School, is the eye-opening work of an artist hurtling forward from a deeply rooted tradition. The best cuts on DJSeries Vol. 4 fall in the line with the deeper, weirder tracks from the Sound Signature catalogue, like the Love Triumphant / Space Bumps 12-inch from 2008.
"Doors (Re)Open," featuring Sabré J, combines a jazzy earworm of a piano line with shooting star synths. On "Dedicated," the epic opening cut, De'Angelo's piano solos creep through a maximal bass and perc arrangement like flowers sprouting out of cracks in the sidewalk. The closer, "Requiem," on the other hand, reflects the staggering loss of the last 18 months with a grip of stately chords embellished by harpsichord and woodwinds, sending us off on a somber but hopeful note.
Tracklist01. Dedicated
02. VIS/ONS
03. Doors (Re)Open (Shaped w/ Sabré J)
04. Requiem