A ROLLING broken beat steps forth, announces a swaying Afro groove.
It’s joined by a stabbing piano figure that seems to pin the deep, oceangoing roll of the break, force it to take a new rhythmic shape; a little bassy snippet hints at 70s’ funk. The beat shifts again, gets more insistent. Layers of sourced vocals step to the front: sampled blues. And by now you’re bopping around the kitchen. There’ll be cool jazz flute. There’ll be wah-wah pedals.
So “The River” busts into your body: nigh on eight minutes of layered, sample heavy, groove odyssey building ragtime, soul, rare groove … oh, so many layers of black music into a stew that wants your muscles to make motion.
“The River” is the second slice of low-temperature, layered sexiness to be culled from Romare’s latest LP for Ninja Tune, Home; his third for the masterful beats imprint and first since 2016’s Love Songs: Part Two.
Romare is the musical moniker of London-based Archie Fairhurst, who said of his latest: “‘The River’ is inspired by being in a big space with lots of people listening to loud music – something which can be spiritually uplifting.”
The album, Home, follows on July 31st. We will be applying our ears. Watch out for the review.
