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IN THE HOUSE
(Defected)
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When are house-music duos going to realize that less is usually more? The sessions on this two-disc set don’t overgild the rhythmic lily as much as they might have, but they nonetheless frustrate the dancer by overstating the action. It’s wrong to create a sense of flamboyance by draping the music in all sorts of sonic effects — Junior Vasquez builds his flamboyance into the music itself, in lush melodies and thick, filtered beats. It’s especially annoying because the pair’s sonic taste hits all the right notes. Their sound is soulful, gospelly, rhapsodic, and sometimes deeply samba: taking house music back to its roots, and to the Brazilian and extended-riff roots of disco itself, without reserve. Here you’ll find no trance atmospherics, no acid, no dancehall or raps, no Armand Van Helden hip-house. But you will find girl-group soul (Kathy Brown’s "Don’t Give Up," with its meaningful "Never give in to your private heaven") and Brazilian Carnaval (Junior’s own "E samba"). You’ll find references to past disco triumphs like the Chic sound (Soulsearcher’s "Feelin’ Love"), Magnifique’s 1984 hi-NRG hit "Magnifique" (here restated by Tedd Patterson), and Mike Mareen’s 1984 space-disco hit "Dancing in the Dark" (here restated by 4Tune500). Inspired, too, are tipsy treats like Mike Dunn’s "God Made Me Phunky" (with its portentous declaration "And I’m glad that he made me that way"), Deepah Ones’ orgasmic "Freak," the Traxx-style house of Lee Cabrera’s "Shake It" segued into Nu Yorican Kidz’ "DJ Tool," and big bosomy beat caricatures like Chicken Lips’ "He Not In." Songs like these speak for themselves . . . if only Junior and Kid would consistently allow them to.
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