Byron Stingily, Marshall Jefferson & Co. don’t get enough credit for what they accomplished with Ten City. I’m not talking about the group’s classic material, which served as the initial sample of organic molecules that left its DNA markers in every beat of modern house music. I mean the resuscitation of Ten City, in the last five years, which is almost unparalleled in contemporary music. Try to think of any band, in any genre, that first surfaced in the 1980s, left a mark as pioneers in their field, and then returned 30+ years later with new material good enough and notable enough to earn a Grammy nod for album of the year in their niche. I don’t think it’s been done, and if it has it hasn’t been done often. Bands reform (and cash in) all the time, more than half of income the music industry generates these days is from nostalgia trips for Boomers, Gen X and now Millennials trying to grasp at their youth. But releasing new music and having it receive that kind of acclaim must be unprecedented. Ten City did that.
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From the name and cover shot of a group of Stingily and nine other artists dressed in white, one takes it that this new Ten City album, The Next Generation, represents either a passing of the torch or an expansion of what Ten City itself means. “House Again” leads off with 2 parts gospel and 2 parts disco, showing the formula for its namesake is made. “Love Music” veers the album into Afro House, or more properly Afropop in the vein of the late, great Hugh Masekela. “Hands To The Sky” is exactly what you think it is — euphoric house with the best hook on the album. “Man Like Me” is a vintage Stingily soulful house jam. While there are multiple guest vocalists, Stingily’s tracks have a quality that is still hard to top — that voice is just so distinctive, able to both blow the roof off the building and then lull an infant to sleep. The disco-influenced tracks like “Unique” I think are the best on the LP, but most of them could be released as singles, and you’d have to guess that most of them will be.
⚪️ The Next Generation Tracklisting
Ten City: The Next Generation (Nervous Records / 12" Vinyl + Digital)
1. House Again (06:53)
2. Love Music (07:34)
3. Unique feat Mon'Aerie (06:25)
4. Live My Life feat Mon'Aerie (05:40)
5. Hands To The Sky feat El Boogie & Ric Wilson (04:37)
6. My Paradise feat DRAMA (05:58)
7. Man Like Me (06:52)
8. No Sleep Tonight (06:09)
9. Stop & Go feat D Lylez (06:36)
10. You're A Star (06:11)
11. Feel Good feat OVEOUS (05:38)
12. Release feat Uneq'ka (07:17)
13. He's A Friend (05:56)
⚪️ Disclosure Statement
This record was submitted as a promo.
⚪️ Previous Coverage
📰 News: Ten City’s JUDGEMENT nominated for a Grammy Award (2021)
📰 News: Chicago house music legends Ten City drop a new single (2022)
❇ Features: Byron Stingily Interview (2011)
❇ Features: Victor Simonelli On His New Track with Byron Stingily: “Having You” (2015)
📰 News: Who’s Going to the Ten City Reunion? (2015)
5 Mag Issue 221
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BACK TO BASICS: First published in 5 Mag Issue #221 featuring Mark Knight, Yuu Udagawa, Gene Tellem and more. Become a member for $2/month and get every issue in your inbox right now…
[…] Tracks), Number (Ramrock Red), Abacus & Haf S (Re/Think), Crooked Man (Vicious Charm), Ten City: The Next Generation (Nervous Records), Luca Olivotto (Small Great Beats), Jon Dixon (No Speakers), DJ Rae, DJ Spen […]