There is superb production skill throughout on this dreamy collaboration that finds Melanie Charles as hip as a soul-into-jazz singer as any around at the moment who certainly oozes cool on 'MFT' as the sonic background swirls around. And on 'Kanazawa' the big song of the record, very much a club anthem in the making, the sort of track somebody could do a frenetic remix to but which more than stands on its own legs.
Mostly a very much middle-of-the-evening lounge record rooted in the customised world of de Clive-Lowe's broken beats milieu you'd be happy to listen to the record if there isn't a live act on in a cafe bar - certainly a record for listening to with friends in a public space as opposed to one for angsty listens on your tod worrying about the state of the planet stuck helplessly doom scrolling all night long at home. De Clive-Lowe's keyboards touch start to really engage on 'Bushido' and the whole album is bookended by 'The Creator Has A Masterplan'. Part II of the classic is streaming ahead of the album's full release. Charles impresses again on 'Love Is Everywhere'. Drummer producer Shigeto (Zach Saginaw) provides a certain wow factor and it's a good intro to what he can do here building on a stylish underground Detroit hinterland.
Shigeto, Mark de Clive-Lowe, Melanie Charles, photo: press
Hotel San Claudio is out on 24 March
MORE READING AND LISTENING:
- Y’all Don’t (Really) Care About Black Women - review, 2021
- For prime Mark de Clive-Lowe - head off to Church - review, 2014
- Dig Shigeto going back a bit on 'MCW' - on Bandcamp, above, 2019
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