Since June we’ve been treated to a series of fine modern soul singles from a new duo – Dimitris & Sulene. First there was the lovely, light dancer, ‘Sparkle’. Then there was the electro-flavoured 80s throwback ‘Electric Love’ followed by an energized ‘Butterfly’. Great stuff… so needing to know more, we discovered that the duo weren’t “new” at all. Dimitris (Dimopoulos) turned out to be a Greek born music multi tasker who has worked with people like Steve Gadd, Jeff Lorber, Nathan East and Don Grusin. “Sulene”? Well she is, of course, Sulene Fleming the lead singer with the Brand new Heavies! No wonder those three tunes were so impressive!
Well, now the parent album , named for the ‘Sparkle’ track’, is officially available and it proves that the three “prefaces” were no flashes in the proverbial pan!
There’s lots of excellence here but let’s start with the throbbing mid-tempo groove that is ‘Breathless’. This one is quite lovely and proves (once again) that we Brits can do proper soul just as well as our American cousins. It succeeds here ‘cos D&S understand the genre! ‘One Of Those Days’ and ‘After The Show’ offer more of the same while if you like things a little more frantic , try ‘Funky Inspiration’ or ‘Let’s Stay’ – both loaded with retro flavours that will ignite memories of good times past.
There’s lots to enjoy here and if you get the chance dig out the remixes of the ‘Sparkle’ single . The Soulpersonna mix is particulatly strong. Sadly not on the album, but worth the effort to locate.
(BB) 4/5
