SHARON MUSGRAVE; Outflow (Zosar Music)

sharon

Sharon Musgrave’s an adventurous vocalist who makes a music that’s as eclectic as her CV. Though she was born in the UK, her parents are from Dominica and they chose to raise young Sharon in Canada, a country she now calls home. Musically she’s worked with William Orbit (she was lead voice on his Bass-o-Matic project) and Julian Joseph and released one solo albums – ‘Selah’ – and a number of well-received dance orientated singles.

‘Outflow’ is her latest album and it reflects her mixed musical background. The LP opens with a number of cuts that show her love of laid back soul/jazz. The opening cut, ‘Beautiful Music’, lays down the marker. It’s a pleasing mix of spoken word and jazz vocal that’s instantly accessible. As catchy is the slow bossa nova that is ‘The Embrace’ while the phased and muted horns on ‘Same Old’ add real interest. The album’s title cut is the set’s big ballad and it has an almost folksy appeal to it… far removed from the jungle energy of ‘Inna B Flat’ and the rap of ‘Good Feelings’.

The second half of the album broadens the set’s variety even more by offering dance based remixes of some of the key cuts along with some fresh songs. So, we get two more versions of ‘Beautiful Music’ with the more laid back ‘Deep Percolator’ mix shading it . Of the rest ‘Everybody Wants It’ is quality soulful dance while the ‘De Luxe’ mix of ‘Smooth Ride’ is –as the name suggests – a smooth late night club groove. You can learn more about this eclectic selection at www.sharonmusgrave.com  , www.zosar.com  or www.myspace.com/sharonmusgrave

(BB) 3/5