Postive Flow is the alter ego of muso about town Jesse Reuben Wilson and and this enigmatic 15 tracker is his latest release. The newie follows the success of his last effort, ‘Flow Lines’ and follows much the same format. That’s to say it’s all original music delivered by a guest list of Cecil B De Mille proportions with each cut coming in a remix format; indeed some of the tunes come in two mixes.
And it’s one of those double mixes that is one of the album’s highlights. Tune in quesion is ‘Do What I Do’ featuring an expected on-point vocal from the ever-reliable Omar. In the Peejay mix it’s a smart, sharp modern soul groove; the Chino Yoshio and Quartet mix is simpler… starker even, and because it allows big O’s voice to shine, it’s the better bet to these ears. Certainly it’s the more soulful.
Omar’s out front on another album goodie….. ‘My Prediction’. The cut comes in a tweak by the great Opolopo and he mixes a gritty funk cocktail that has its roots in Stevie W circa. ‘Superstition’. Another worth invetsigating is the opening track – ‘Kingdom’ . This is a great modern R&B groove and singer Natasha Alexander does a greeat “tonight Matthew I’ll be Mary J Blige” job!
Elsewhere there’s sweeping soulful house (Moji’s mix of ‘Chidlern Of The Sun’), fractured beats (‘Look Around Any Corner’) and some pleasing Ibizan style chillers (I’m liking ‘Universal Truth’). Indeed here there’s something for all kinds of every taste and therein lies the problem. The collection lacks a consistent soundscape. It’s all a bit erratic … a case of too mnay cooks spoling the musical broth…. but do check out the Omar cuts!
(BB 3/5
