(Hussle/EMI)

Having spent over 15 years in the business, German producer and DJ Tom Novy has finally released his debut album Superstar. As one of Germany’s most commercially viable artists, Novy took the step from relative obscurity into the world of superstardom after he released his world wide smash single Your Body. From that moment on, Novy has become one of the hottest house producers and DJs the world over. As a producer, remixer, mixer, columnist, VJ, DJ, RJ and whatever else, it’s hard to think when this guy actually sleeps. As he makes his way to all four corners of the glove to play his brand of loved up funky house music he has impressively kept his producing hit after hit, and this album shows the full diversity of his talents.

The chilled out summer loving opener Lovin’ You brilliantly opens the album, and leads wonderfully into the adoring female vocals that accompany the chilled out yet club friendly Take It. As previously aforementioned, Novy’s greatest achievement thus far has come from his world wide cult hit Your Body. As the third song glides through the speaker the programming is already top notch. While the album is unmixed it flows in the effortless fashion of a mixed CD.

While the majority of this album is loved up funky house there is also traces of Reggae & African sounds: as well as some more broken beat electro house experimental numbers like Back To The Streets and Jackie.

Sweety and Police Is Thieves represent the sprinkling of Reggae and African sounds on the album and are chilled out, summer anthems that would fit nicely on any reputable chillout compilation or even better yet, a reggae album.

Novy’s sound is distinctly big room, summer feeling, loved up, vocal and funky, which is best represented through the tracks Without Your Love, My House and Now or Never. Music is Wonderful is an old school Atari-sounding yet stunningly driving track that really grows on you with every listen. Tracks like this and Superstar remind you of Novy’s German background in Eurodance music.

There’s a sprinkling of pop in this album with Unexpected, a Kylie Minogue/Madonna sounding song while I Rock is very much a pop-dance anthem in sound and stature.

The Snap-sampling hit The Power as well as Your Body and the radio friendly Take It and It’s Over are very much main room anthems.

Before reviewing this album I had very much pigeonholed Novy as a one-dimensional funky house DJ and producers; but the diversity of this album has all but cleared my mind of that notion. As far as house albums go, this is about as impressive as you’re likely to find for a debut release and for the all Novy fans out there, they won’t be disappointed.