Black Grass is the project of Brighton
based DJ/Producer and self-confessed vinyl junkie Mex who brings
into play a wide range of guest vocalists to contribute to this,
his third outing. ’Three’ encapsulates the stylistic
flair, unabated dynamism and full flavored variety of a classy,
summertime urban carnival, featuring singers and spitters from
across the globe doing their thing over jazzy and soulful, multi-dimensional
beatscapes that feature an array of live instruments arranged
with a free, swing-jazz aesthetic.
Moving through a host of genres from dusty
soul to Brazilian funk, UK Hip-hop to vibrant reggae, Mex adapts
his productions subtly to play to the strengths of each vocalist
and their particular style. On ‘Without Your Love’
featuring the silky vocals of Dionne Charles, Mex produces a beat
that charges along with a classy retro-funk feel that sounds like
it is straight out of the ‘Playboy Mansion’ series.
The latin-house tinged, Mexican outback soundscapes of ‘Queztalcoatl
Returns’ unfurls engrossingly like a dust cloud over a vast
expanse of neon desert whilst ‘Bless’ featuring Ruben
da Silva’ shimmers with a dark and mystical exoticism, her
stirring vocals seeping like heavy liquid over a horn heavy, smoky
jazz-funk instrumental.
One
of the more well known contributors on ‘Three’ is
J-Live whose appearance came about by chance, as Mex hooked up
with him after a show in Brighton. His contribution is undoubtedly
one of the star tracks with him laying down his poetic, narrative
raps over a hypnotically circling jazz-noir melody. Elsewhere,
there is a smattering of hip-hop vocalists ranging from the Brighton-based
‘Koaste’ to underground Long-Island rappers ‘The
Good People’. On the reggae-tip, ‘Bass Man’
features Benjammin’ who provides an immense bout of toastage
bringing memories of Eek-a-Mouse’s finest flooding back.
With this track, Mex captures the warm, stuffy and rather eccentric
passion of reggae at its most bouncy and grinding. ‘Stormy
Weathers’ is another enchanting cut featuring Jah Marnyah
who spits “stormy weathers are passing over, prepare
yourself because you might get run over, Rastafari is my savior”,
in a torched, heartfelt, Sizzla-esque roots-ragga style over a
deep dubby-groove complimented by free percussives, pulsing guitars
and drifting melodies. The final cut ‘Away’ is a dark,
dubby cut of slow-motion guitar swirls and droney bass featuring
‘Rider Shafique’ who flows with slightly menacing,
Patois-tinged lyrics.
With
‘Three’, Mex has brought together a fine range of
vocalists and encapsulated the classiest, hip-shaking sounds of
world-music, delivering it within a thumping urban dynamic which
is expertly tailored to each of the vocalists. Covering such a
broad range of styles may leave one-genre followers a little out
of their depths but for lovers of funky and colourful summertime
vibes carved from real instruments, ‘Three’ is the
album to spin this summer. (AM)
For
fans of: Kid Loco, Rae & Christian, Gotan Project, Ty
Click
to buy Three
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