Artist: Audiofly
Album: Follow My Liebe
Label: Get Physical
Release Date: 29/04/2011
There's something right about a production album that, while stopping for breath, rolls into itself, delivering what the non-DJing community wants. Better still when that format is used for hypnosis.
Which is kind of the effect Luca Saporito and Anthony Middleton's debut LP has on you. Once the shock has sunk in that this is indeed the first full-lengther from a pair responsible for a nine year catalogue of tech quality.
The scoring opens with the title track, literally. Though not the most club focused outing of the 14 offered here, it's one that kicks things off in exactly the way Audiofly fans may have hoped. Emerging from a sunkissed Balearic house vibe- guitar licks, vocal harmonies and all- into something that nods toward tougher ends, before leaving as it arrived, our ears are then passed to the capable hands of a squelching bassline and warm pad-dominated deep shuffler, Kiss And Tell.
So far so Get Physical, and the release follows in similarly familiar form, though it must be said there's enough prowess exhibited to entice even those tiring of the niche. What with the e-pop stylings of 6 Degrees, wherein our female guest Firoa lulls us into an introverted long-distance love affair, it's hard to deny the quality that, under closer inspection, is commonplace throughout this latest from said camp.
Elsewhere things get meatier. Take for instance Black Cat, its low-slung rhythm and teasing melodies, capped with sharp hi-hats and spoken words. Or Myhappyplace, wherein inaudibly innocent samples are driven with flat-footed beats, and what may even be a hook constructed from a small animal, resulting in a stripped but notably energetic number that eases as organs drop a little soul over the arrangement.
In contrast Shaun Parkes' appearance proves to be the most humanistic thing on here. A downbeater, as the aforementioned lyricist preaches on abandonment and survival, a wave of synth rises and drops with kick-heavy force. Slight percussive accents abound, and dub hangs heavy in the air, creating a dose of summer deepness. Before conclusion we're given three dancefloor numbers; the piano builder Blue Man (capable of filling many a room), the jacking Talk To Me (Chicago in the jungle), and Lo-Rise (distorted brass meets a looped lady of European origin). Each does the job nicely. It's proof that one man's warm up material can be another's early hour bomb, and a fitting summary of a release that should find favour with a range of four four heads.
