Search - Soul Ascendants :: Variations By Soul Ascendants

Engrossing Electronic

punkdolphin | Punk Dolphin - NYC/Amsterdam | 10/25/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"One listen to "Moonrise" from this recording and immediately the ears become engrossed. Entranced by the beauty of the horns as the funky bass line starts to reverberate within the body. A jazzy house track that states exactly who the band is and where their minds are, this is summer music for all times and the horns add to the New Orleans party atmosphere. Somewhere a group of people are standing by a bonfire watching the stars in peace to this song.   Did someone say soul?  "Pacachuti" is a rump-shaker with wah-wah guitar and those fabulous horns!  The song that's playing in some overcrowded bar where everyone is dancing and rubbing up against each other in a sweat-drenched exercise. Fun stuff.Astral-trippers will get into the vibe of  "Safe Is The Place" as it recalls memories of 70s psychedelic music. The organ dances over a downtempo beat and wispy keys, evoking some serious nostalgia. Imagine standing on the tallest building in your city or township and viewing the panorama that unfolds.  Imagine everything that moves is moving in a rapid blur. "The String Thing" is another house masterpiece that adds in melodramatic strings to supplement the horns. With a layer of funk thrown in underneath, this track is like Jazzanova or Joe Claussell.  "In Your Eyes" establishes itself early with a driving beat and sweet, soft keys giving it a spacious feel almost similar to Spacetime Continuum or Beanfield. Throw in tracks like "Tribute", "Celebrate" and "Secret Agent", which feature the talents of Tony Allen and you have a collection of tracks on the jazz side of life, but not too abstract or sophisticated to relate to. Variations recalls a time when someone said to me, "Acid jazz is dead". That always bothered me, because the fact is, acid jazz never died.  People's attention might of been diverted but it's still going strong, always changing with the times. Just like this album, alive."