In the early 90's when my musical pendulum swung firmly in the favour of hip hop my mind was very blinkered. Hip Hop was the be all & end all. Where did the original samples come from? I didn't care. Who sung the original song's? I didn't care. What other genre's were out there for me to discover? I didn't care. For a guy that was raised with Dub, Reggae, Michael Jackson, calypso & Soca that is virtually crime of the century. But with age & experience comes wisdom (sort of) & a vastly extended musical palette. Music such as the kind Aaron Jerome has created on his debut disc is a testament to just that. Drawing on a vast catalogue of influences the sounds journey from gorgeous to outhere and to straight thumping with ease. The first track on the album, the beautiful Dancing Girl (featuring a subtly hypnotising vocal from Mozez) is an obvious example. It starts as a guitar led ballad and then reaches into a downtempo beat number with 4Hero-esque violins for company. It accelerates and opens out to a superb live drum & guitar section before slowing down again for the finale. A sublime piece of arranging as well as production. But it's when the following track opens with a continuous latino/bossa percusiion loop that you realise the scope of just what this guy has drawn on to make this album happen. And so it continues with each track bringing a sound you haven't heard on any of the previous tracks. Through the Midtempo Nu jazz drums and jazz textured cello & piano of 'Reason To'. The straight neck snapping Hip Hop of Way Of Life through the Spacey Drum & Bass vibes of 'Real Time' (featuring Bahamadia soundalike Voice). On the first listen you're never quite sure what sound is gonna infiltrate your anvils next. Yungun even makes an appearance on my favourite track on this one (it's hard to deny the Hip Hop in me) 'Light Night Mission'. With it's lovely uptempo swing & bass guitar weaving in & out of the catchy drum patterns my head was swinging (not nodding) all the way through. Yungun doesn't disappoint and the subject matter & skits woven into the song all fit perfectly. In fact there isn't a single guestspot thats out of place. A lot of producer led releases of this type suffer from too many thus taking the listeners attention away from the artists work. This does no such thing as all the guests only add to the music they're accompanying. Kathrin De Boer especially is a voice i would pay to hear in the atmosphere of any intimate venue without hesitation. Her turn on 'Blow Your Own Pt. 2 is simply awesome. Mr. Jerome is undeniably a superb talent & the variety he's shown on this album only shows just how much he can turn his hand to & how many artists will be asking for his services. A quite splendiferous debut sir!!! Check out the track below for a taster.
Aar It Out
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