Son Raw was in second grade.
What happens when the past sounds more like the future than the present? I’m not entirely sure, which is why I’ll save my review of Special Request’s (AKA Paul Woolford’s) always thrilling but sometimes slavishly conventional Soul Music for another day. For now, let us bask in the wonder that is The Hackney Parrot VIP. Whereas the rest of Soul Music pretty much refuses to exit the 90s, this remix is an utterly convincing combination of 2K13 syncopation and classic sounds, the kind of track that demands instant reloads and gurning faces.
Tessela’s original already left a trail of euphoric grins across the mugs of ravers from London to Leeds this summer thanks to its clipped samples and ultra-funky drums but Woolford’s remix throws in everything but the kitchen sink, making it the rare dance music track worthy of its entire 7 minute run time (without ketamine). There’s random bits of emcee chat, quaking reese bass, competing vocal samples and some of the first drums I’ve heard that finally build on the promise of UK Funky abandoned in favor of 4X4 a few years ago. This is the anthem, get your damned hands up.
