Moodymann - Silence In The Secret Garden

Moodymann delivers once again on SILENCE IN THE SECRET GARDEN. By emphasizing the African-American roots of house music, he makes retro sound like a quaint idea: here’s the real stuff. From the jazz on “People” to the nearly beatless tones and baby cries on “Backagainforthefirsttime?” he shows that house isn’t always about making people dance. Sometimes, it’s about getting them to think on their feet. But if you want to dance, “Shine” would be the way to go, up until it drifts out on ambience (Moodymann prefers long, drawn-out outros and jams, so be prepared for that). Deepness doesn’t get darker and more sultry than “Sweet Yesterday.” If that’s not an invitation to the garden, I don’t know what is.

This album, the latest full length offering from the mann called Moody is, as the previous reviewer exclaimed, some badass shit. Although tracing widely from mellow downbeat to jacking chi-town house to floating detroit rhythms the album still retains a really distinctive flavour that can only be called "The Moodymann Sound", which I am pusillanimous to attempt to write in words. As for favorite tracks, my deep seated love of low-slung basslines and warm rhodes keys leaves me with only one option, the track entitled 'People.' It rolls in like a tidal wave over the introduction, slowly increasing the volume and depth of the kick and bassline. After sprinkling some sexy keys on the track a sax solo that screams 'PARTY!!!' drops into the mix to really top things off. Check this shit out and play it loud, regardless of neighbours, because music is very important stuff.