(4 Lux Records)

A: Boogie Bridge (Gerd’s 4lux remix) 6.27
B: Boogie Bridge (4/4 Tweak mix) 7.30

Delgui is the name of a new collaborative musical project between classically-trained Portuguese-born piano and bass player Paolo Delgado and Dutch leftfield electronic producer Gerd (aka Gert-Jan Bjil). One of Holland’s most prolific and acclaimed electronic producers currently operating in the downtempo and broken-beat spheres, Gerd first emerged back in 1991 with an EP on Richie Hawtin’s Malego imprint before relocating to London and working with Jedi Knights / Global Communications’ Mark Pritchard and Tom Middleton, as well as going on to release two artist albums, ‘This Touch Is Greater Than Moods’ (1997) and ‘High, Wide & Wonderful’ (2001).

During the last two years Bjil and Delgado have worked together on several Gerd productions as well as around 30 remixes for the likes of Koop, Ennio Morricone and Quant, but for this first release under their Delgui moniker (through Netherlands imprint 4 Lux), they’ve teamed up with vocalist Marilyn David to produce ‘Boogie Bridge’, a track apparently inspired by classic long-running US TV show ‘Soul Train.’

On the A-side of this 12”, Gerd’s 4lux remix of ‘Boogie Bridge’ kicks in with a very live-sounding breakbeat house rhythm providing a lithe shuffling backing for synthesised funk bass chords and Marilyn David’s crossover-urban / Rnb-styled vocal exhorting the ladies to “hold it down like Beyonce” over a grooving backdrop of loungey synths and springing sampled wah-guitar. On the flip, the 4/4 Tweak mix pushes things towards more main-room house oriented floors, with a punching kickdrum and tech-infused beats providing a rhythmic centre for a buzzing UK-garage-influenced synth riff – at the same time, it manages to retain the entire vocal, setting the phrases close on the beat to evoke a vocal fusion that brings to mind Ms. Dynamite or MC Soon-T’s blend of garage tempos with lush urban production.

‘Boogie Bridge’ is an excellent debut 12” from Bjil and Delgado under their ‘Delgui’ guise that points towards promising things for their debut Delgui album (expected autumn ‘05). Both of the mixes included on this 12” are very strong and manage to take the track to considerably different places – head to the flipside for pounding main room action, while the slightly more subdued broken-step A-side will sit beautifully next to the likes of Quant and IG Culture. Recommended.

Check out http://www.4lux.com