Omar S

I can't help it but I like him!

It is something like those weird days when I first heard the punchy Robert Armani sounds, or finally got my head around something like Silver Apples. Omar-S' music can be plain odd, soulful, jerky, badly-goodly-giftedly-intentionally produced, makes you curiously bored, or nervously happy and funked out to the max - Diverse. Odd artwork on his releases ranges from handwritten white labels to pixellated computer games or quirky quotes from 'insidehishead'.

His collaboration with Shadow Ray (who is this person?) to make up 'Oasis Collaborating' (nothing to do with Manchester UK!) demonstrates a new diversity and rhythm that is refreshing and challenging to listen to, or catalyses a 'need to dance' urge.

Checking out his mixes (a few listed here on CD-r) further proves his musicality, his talent and where his influences stem from - Chicago jack, minimal DEtroit, experimental dubby sounds and thick soulful numbers (..I know I'm only just touching on this). Undoubtedly a relation of the '3 Chairs' movement: unafraid of expressing their emotions and interpretations of sound, whilst rocking your body and mind.

What an eccentric conundrum - and I am sure he's a proper underground legend at work. I think it is his musical honesty that cuts it in the end - it is where its at, and where it should be.

Omar-S is the latest man of mystery from Detroit. His records are low key minimal dirty house music, usually issued only on white label with handwritten info. His love for the music is quite evident from the deep emotional tracks he writes. His music is indebted to tracky Chicago house, dirty Detroit house, and of course Detroit techno. The release of the vinyl of his "Just Ask The Lonely" album is sure to catapault him into the same revered air as Theo Parrish and Kenny Dixon Jr. For me he's already there: I buy double copies of every release he has without listening to them first. Thats some of the highest praise I can give to any artist. I've never been disappointed....