It’s a cliché, but fitting for a Detroit artist, I want to say that Rick Wade is equal parts man and machine. I have no idea how he’s capable of maintaining such a furious pace, with sterling releases on Harmonie Park mixed in with original EPs and remixes on dozens of labels dotting the globe. Rick has launched many a label for other folks, and this debut release has put Artful Division on the map. Cooler Heads is like some kind of early Summer Christmas for aficionados of quality Deep House; the title track is so deep it’s practically submerged, with glorious beats and “smeared” keys that never break rhythm but take you on a journey nonetheless. “Jal”, like “Cooler Heads”, has a shuffling beat that breaks the monotony of the 7,451 Deep House tracks released this month made by people who seem to think that smoking a blunt & stringing boring loops together makes a solid track rather than the solid beginning of one. Overall, any label that imports Rick Wade for an opener has got to have some solid idea in mind; for that reason alone, Artful is worth keeping an eye on.
