Romare

Projections

Image of Romare - Projections
Record Label
Ninja Tune

About this item

Although he piqued the collective interest with a couple of intricate and textured EPs on Black Acre, it wasn’t until the speaker smashing brilliance of "Roots" dropped on Ninja Tune in December 2014 that anticipation of this long player reached fever pitch. Taking inspiration from the vibrant collages of American artist Romare Bearden, London's Archie Fairhurst assembles his sampledelic productions from the building blocks of Afrocentric musical heritage. But don't confuse Romare with the myriad of sampler bashing producers without a creative bone in their body, "Projections" is the work of a true scholar of black music and culture, fluent in the musical language he's created and in possession of a sophisticated and inventive approach to production. There are hints of my favourite Detroit producers here, as we hear echoes of Kenny and Theo at their most samplistic, but the nuanced approach is Romare's alone. The disco house brilliance of ‘Roots’ is present but stands alone as a mainroom attraction amid an abundance of jazzy beatdown, relaxed footwork and future soul riches which sound as good on headphones or in the living room as they do over a system. This is without doubt an early contender for record of the year.

TRACK LISTING

Nina's Charm
Work Song
Motherless Child
Ray's Foot
Roots
Jimmy's Lament
Lover Man
Rainbow
Prison Blues
The Drifter
La Petite Mort

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