COLL: Detroit Beatdown Label: Third Ear / Beatdownsounds.com
This is one of the most important electronic music CDs to come out in years. Detroit “Beatdown” is a project aimed at redefining the “Detroit techno” label that has been given to the city known as “the birthplace of techno”. This CD aims to show that there’s more to Detroit than techno – there’s house, disco, jazz, soul, gospel – all the distinctly “black” dance music of the inner city that’s inspiring and groovy. Some of dance music’s most influential DJ/producers (many who have produced techno) are here on this CD – Theo Parrish, Mike Clark, Alton Miller, Norm Talley. Listen up – and please play it!
CD 1: Try all – especially 2,3,4,5,6,9
1. Piano jazz improvisation over loose relaxed synths and a gentle broken beat, deep bassline
2. Downtempo acid-jazzy w/ great sax loop, relaxed synth melodies – very chill
3. A slower beat, maybe 110 bpm, but very deep; starts minimally and then gets into a real catchy little synth loop around 3:00
4. Stripped-down tech-y beats, with a nice breathy vocal loop, very cool & funky
5. Trumpet loop, grinding bass, w/ snappy snare drums, sample of Billie Holiday “that will make you kick & gamble…stay out all night long”
6. Thumpin’ house beats with some catchy licks/samples, chill-out synths
7. More thumpin’ house w/ gospel-y vocal loop – a bit faster tempo than the previous 3 tracks – with a bit more of a harder edge
8. Vocal scatting at the beginning, then breaks into a funky deep-house track featuring the vocal loop laid with some solid beats
9. Stripped down deep house with sweetly flowing synth background and wonderful jazz piano playing – a beautiful track
CD 2 – Try 1,4,5
1. Sweet deep house with a bit of congas, flowing melodic synth layers
2. Deep house, w/ cut-up vocal sample, some mellow piano loops, and a couple of tweaky effects
3. Swirled-up vocal samples over a bumpin’ house track & some disco-y loops
4. Loopy synths & space-y effects over some disco-ish groove – nice one
Bangin’ disco-infused house w/ funky bassline and bumpin’ beats, vocal sample w/ “my people”