UK soul connoisseurs will know all about Berkshire born MANNY RAHELU who works under the name “THE REALM”.
If you don’t, here’s a little history. Manny won’t mind us calling him a soul veteran. He started in music aged just 12 spinning and scratching at local parties in the 80s before graduating to the London club scene where he DJ’d and promoted at some of the capitals’ chicest underground venues.
Then in the late noughties Manny started producing his own music. After a domestic sabbatical he made a big comeback to the scene in 2018 with some classy new music and innovative remixes. Maybe his best-known tune to date is the broody ’Diamond Cut’ – the profits from which were donated to charity… specifically the brain tumour charity, The Raj Rana Fund.
Manny/The Realm’s latest offering is a lovely new mix of a veritable soul classic – MAXWELL’S ’Ascension. Don’t Ever Wonder’. Why tamper with an icon unless you’re going to try something a little different? Well, that’s exactly what’s going on here. Manny welds Maxwell’s smooth n’ silky vocal over a catchy (mainly) electro track to offer a fresh perspective on something very familiar. It works well, though Manny is quick to call his mix “homemade” with the vocal taken from the original acapella track. All sounds good to these old ears though! Try it yourself by visiting www.therealmmusic.com
