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(April Records/Creative Vibes)
After going into hiding for the last few years the Copenhagen funk masters are back with a brilliant new approach and a shiny new release for us all to drool over. In previous release the group were a little more pre-disposed to the broken-beat/nu-jazz elements of their genre, however with this new release ‘Mirrors’ we see the group attacking their music from a much more sophisticated jazz angle with much more focus on classic jazz with the same old attention being given to their high standard of track complexity and tight beats.
‘Mirrors’ is a downbeat masterpiece with an obvious attention to detail evident in tracks like ‘I’m In Heaven’, ‘Mirrors’ and ‘Greyhound’ to name a few. Occasional vocal samples, horns and funky pianos are stung about the place with very few samples seeming out of place; interestingly enough the vocal samples are used in some of the tracks as sort of cues for a more complex lead in or out before more vocals are used. The vocal cuing system used by Universal Funk enables them to be diverse in their sampling, with each section following the vocals leading up to the finale section of samples, drums and annoyingly head-bobbing, toe-tapping horns and pianos!
At times, this release can seem to produce a somewhat solemn and downtrodden theme in its openings like thin ‘Stay Golden’ where the operatic sample that is also used in the backings of the entire track. But, not all is lost, the hip-hop styles come in with some broken beat, and a few rhymes here and there to keep the track afloat. Being found on over 3 compilations world wide it is easy to see why Universal Funk manage to make such good deep funk downbeat that almost blends itself in with other tracks in its genre. Tracks like ‘The Day you Left me’ and ‘Fly Away’ add some vocal harmonies into an already brilliant mix with the final track ‘All is well’ just sealing the mix up with its almost hip-hop vocals like ‘g-nome comic book characters/selling bootlegs in fastfood chain’s parking lots’ combine with a scary horn sample keeps the track moving along with the eerie piano bringing the release to a slow and steady halt.
Universal Funk fans will be familiar with the finesse and brilliance will find this release darker than those previous, but those new to Universal Funk will be enchanted by the use of classical jazz samples and eerie, almost horror movie soundtrack tracks and samples.
