Nicolay's reputation is now such that, among those in the know, when his name is atached to a project the antixipation jumps 3 fold, if not more. When i first heard The 1st single from the album (also titled) ABC Of Romance, I was expecting a smooth easy debut from Moon Baker. And that is what was delivered. At almost a year old this album somehow got through my radar undetected. Released in Holland & Japan initially, it was well worth the find. Theres a edgy, rock vibe to Moons voice (think Nikka Costa or Pink) & Nicolay is quick to highlight this with Shot Deep. Mild Rock guitar riffs & lively horns over a edged drum pattern kick things off well. The vibe then takes a complete u-turn on The Light. The downtempo Smooth Jazz vibe works well with the vocals, especially when Moon starts to really belt out the notes. From here we hit the club with the mid tempo step of Body. From here the head nod of You Are will remind a few peeps of Mary J. when Hip Hop RnB was flying. This is an album of ever changing vibes & n o song is accompanied on either side by a similar track. Listening to tracks 8, 9 & 10, You go from the lovely understated smothness of the title track, to the full on jazz, vocal samples & deeper subject matter of God's Only Crusade, to the spacey keyboards of Stay. Yet it all sounds so cohesive. You could say that the album covers every conceivable version of smooth & the fact it's Nicolay predominantly behind the boards makes that a positive. It's also refreshing to hear a vocalist of Moon's ability challenge subject matter other than love & relationships. A real nice debut all in all with the rock element on some of the tracks bringing someting different to proceedings (Caught Up In C-Minor Blues). Nicolay can only enhance that already superb rep.
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Moon Baker - ABC Of Romance selection
Moon Baker - ABC Of Romance Remix ft. Kay
Moon Bakers Myspace
Dutch Double Bill 2: A B C ... Easy As 1 2 3
Dutch Double Bill 1: The Opposite Of Silence Is Golden
I suppose the dutch quality has always been there but for me it's a bit like buses. I spend days trying to get hold of copies of my next 2 reviews & 2they both come along at once. Well travelled but Amsterdam based, Giovanca Ostiana steps out from the shadows with a thoughtful, mature debut. A lot of todays supposed RnB is either too bass driven for the clubs or too sappy for it's own good. One of the great things about this release is the way that the melody does most of the work on alot of the songs. The 1st three tracks are sublime examples. On My Way's Uptempo, almost Nu-Funk vibe is carried by a piano & snare with the kick almost non-existant. From here the bassy but simple smoothness of Joyride is accentuated by the changing licks of a bass guitar. Then comes one the foot stomps, hand claps, tablas & a sporadic piano that allow Giovanca to do her thing., only for a bass guitat & slightly heavier drum to be added to create an almost carnival vibe on Hypnotize You. On my fav track on the album, Melancholic You, You'd be forgiven for thinking that the drums are only there to keep time for the lovely strings, guitar & horns of the song. I could go on about all 12 of the songs on here as each one deserves a mention (You Can Do It, Free, Stay Together, the beautiful You Again, etc) as well as all of the original production & live instrumentation. Gio's voice suits every track & oozes a Jazzy smoothness that conventional RnB songstresses just don't have. I hope that this quality over quantity vibe is now the way of the walk. It seems that the last few albums i have covered are almost entirely ereft of any filler. This is one such album & long may it continue.
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Giovance - Subway Silence selection
Giovanca's Site
