Not too long ago, UK soul vet RAY HAYDEN resurrected to his OPAZ music project – the collective were big in the 90s; you may remember things like ‘Don’t Say Nuthin’’ and ‘I Don’t Want It’. Thus in May we enjoyed the new team’s ‘Make You Wanna Dance’ – an infectious up tempo funk/dance groove.
Now RAY/OPAZ return with two tasty cuts – ‘To Be Loved’ and ‘In My Dreams’. The former is a big , big production capturing that wonderful 70s soul vibe – lush instrumentation, velvety vocals, and hypnotic rhythms; the lot! ‘In My Dreams’ is more ethereal, hypnotic even. This one’s a spoken word piece with an ambient vibe that might recall groups like Rotary Connection and the production work of people like Charles Stepney.
Both these tracks show Mr H’s pedigree. He’s worked with people like Marvin Gaye, Leon Ware The Temptations, Will Smith, Mary J Blige, Mica Paris and Martine Girault. It shows! ‘To Be Loved’ and ‘In My Dreams’… a real double A sider!
