Local progressive prodigy Jaytech released his debut album earlier this year, and now it’s the turn of his partner in crime and world renowned DJ/producer Matt Rowan to unleash his own effort upon the world. The album came with two discs, one smoothly-sequenced ‘album’ version that’s designed for normal listening, and another with all the release’s singles mastered specifically as DJ tools. A nice touch indeed!

One of the things I discovered during the course of reviewing this CD is that I’ve started doing a passable impression of Vicki Pollard from Little Britain (in my head I mean, rather than verbally). If you’re unaware, she’s the charming young UK lass who starts her sentences with the ever-so eloquent “yeah, but no, but yeah, but no….” It’s the same position that I found myself in while trying to decide whether I found this release enjoyable or not!

The early section of the album is probably the main reason as it took me a long time to start to come to grips with what Matt was attempting to achieve. I initially got the impression that Matt was doing the production equivalent of ‘painting by numbers’. Oh, you have to have a bit that goes bleep, and don’t forget the obligatory squelch, etc etc. I felt disinterested and removed from the music, and worse still, found myself skipping tracks completely to get to the back end of the album where the truly juicy stuff lies.

But I discovered, that by spending more time at the front end of the album and playing that part repeatedly, I started to discover some rather clever music that really was worthy of my attention. What I initially mistook for more of the same minimal music that has been produced to death over the past twenty four months, is really truly deep and at times luscious progressive music with doses of tech used to excellent effect. Bits and Pieces and Lush are two slow burners that are perfect examples of Matt’s work at the front-end of the album. The only track that still leaves me completely cold is Scam, and it’s more to do with the strange voice than the music itself. One thing is for sure, Matt may have many talents, but apparently being a lyricist isn’t one of them!

But if the first half of the album is for the delight of a discoverer, then the second half is the stuff of instant gratification. From the dirty rasping bass lines of the strangely titled FCLMB to the funk-laden beauty of Mr 80, I found myself re-winding and listening to these tracks over and over again, like an obsessive compulsive with a deep-seated need to press play a thousand times a day. I was and still am, completely and utterly smitten! Matt builds the energy beautifully until you’re completely lost amid a whirlwind wonderland of driving bass lines and bubbling progressive energy.

The highlight of the whole CD for me is the mesmerising Sin Queso, Sin Jamon, a track that proves that incomprehensible lyrics can be every bit as inspired as the words of Shakespeare. OK, so I have no idea what the lady is screaming about (just as I never understood what Shakespeare was blabbing on about either), but it compliments the music so wonderfully that I don’t care to find out as it will only go and spoil the magic.

Music aside though, what I really enjoyed about this album is that it’s a testament to the strength in the local dance music scene here in Australia. We spend so much time talking about and listening to overseas artists, that we often take local artists for granted or don’t give them the attention they deserve. Matt has put together a quality release here and I for one am more than happy to recommend Matt’s work to anyone who’s willing to listen. So, are you listening?

Check out the tracklisting…

01. Intro
02. Jive turkey
03. Lush
04. Bits & Pieces
05. Quirk
06. Scam
07. FCLMB
08. All Thats Good
09. Jack Boot
10. Sin Queso, Sin Jamon
11. Excellence
12. Mr. 80
13. Outro