This is one of the quietest all-star productions I’ve come across this year. For decades Robert Clivilles was the archetype of the producer who melts into the console and the wax was the only place that traces of him could be found. He achieved a fame that few in House Music could match with C + C Music Factory but C + C represented only a sliver of his total work.
Clivilles has nearly 700 credits on discogs and given the spotty nature of dance music accounting probably worked on several hundred more in his day. Yet “Set Me Free” was noted by some as his “first solo record” and it very well might have been.
“Set Me Free” was something of a SoundCloud sensation when it hit two years ago with a volcanic David Morales remix. I am absolutely the worse when tracking this kind of thing down, but the first I saw of that as an “official” release was on Hector Romero’s Weaving Genres compilation on Nervous earlier this year. Another remix teased on SoundCloud was by Clivilles with Eric Kupper; and now we have this single track, appearing seemingly out of the ether on Eric Kupper’s label.
Louie Vega goes to town with this – an organ jam that takes the dancefloor to church, with Kimberly Davis’ vocal standing at the front of a chorus of heavenly voices. At least according to the original notes, “Set Me Free” deals with the death of Clivilles’ father, and you can feel that darkness here that’s at the core of all celebratory music. I really can’t tell you where the hell this came from or why it’s here, in this form, but it ought to be celebrated too.
Robert Clivilles featuring Kimberly Davis: Set Me Free (Louie Vega vs. C+C Music Factory Mix) (Hysteria)
1. Robert Clivilles featuring Kimberly Davis: Set Me Free (Louie Vega vs. C+C Music Factory Mix) (Hysteria) (10:49)
First published in 5 Magazine #152 featuring Superjane at 20, Jean-Michel Jarre, Sir LSG, Secret Studio & more. Become a member of 5 Magazine for First & Full Access to Real House Music for only $2 per month!
