Deep House must surely be the most muddled musical grouping around these days; the phrase seems to stumble around lost, like an embarrassingly drunk and slightly unhinged colleague at last month’s office party. This lovely hunk of wax from Nathaniel X represents, for me at least, a pretty strong blueprint for the sound I fell in love with 15 years ago. Full of languid pads, jazzy pianos and Latin-tinged percussion, the record drills down to the source of what makes this genre great.
“Money & Most” features a solid, moody groove beneath an all-too timely vocal refrain: “money still controlling most, interesting how it’s working on both; those who have it, those who don’t…” “Everybody Up” builds steadily, with pads leading the way into a heady, hypnotic track, topped with pleasing flutes and soulful vocals.
The final track “Rest In Power Robinson & Camacho” represents a fitting tribute to two NYC House legends, touching and uplifting in equal measure.
I genuinely love this trio of tracks, not because they break new ground, but because they stand firmly on the solid foundations of a rich and continually relevant culture. There’s no substitute for authenticity; no other way to define it other than with a well-worn cliche: House is a feeling.
