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Suol063Chopstick & JohnjonCloser
After collecting heaps of praise for their album ‘Twelve’, released last year, Suol’s head honchos Chopstick & Johnjon are back with a brand new EP. Many listeners were especially fond of the way the duo were able to combine great songs with club appeal on their LP, and this rare ability is certainly in full effect once more here in the form of four fresh original tracks.
‘Oh Mama’ is definitely sure-fire club material. Instrumental, except for an echoing looped vocal sample, the track builds and builds, capturing the energy of a Minimoog jam and channelling it into pure dance floor bliss as sweet harmonies and lofty hi-hats float over a monster of a groove.
With New York City’s Ryan Cavanagh aka Slow Hands providing the vocals, ‘Catamount’ is another great example of how these two seemingly effortlessly manage to incorporate classy songwriting into a club track. This eight-minute journey transports the hypnotic elation of some of the pioneering house anthems of the late eighties and early nineties straight into the sound of today.
Quickly after first working with Chris James, Chopstick & Johnjon scrapped their original idea of working with a long list of guest vocalists on ‘Twelve’ and instead featured the British singer not only on the single ‘Pining Moon‘, but on all of the album tracks but one. In ‘Skin’, Chris’ vocals again flow perfectly between C&J’s trademark harmonic synth stabs, accompanied by acoustic guitars and an electric bass, all expertly held together by a light but delightfully bouncy house beat. Regular listeners will know that Chopstick & Johnjon always like to show another side of their sound with the last track on their EPs. And this time it is a little gem called ‘Track Of Time’ featuring Larissa Kapp, whose lush vocals sit beautifully on what is almost a ballad – a ballad with a huge 808 that is.
Chopstick & Johnjon call it ‘Harmony Rave’, what do you call it?
