VA: Colours-Volume 5
Soiree Records

In the fifth installment of the long-running Colours series, four Detroit-area producers serve up respective takes on what constitutes deep house circa 2009. Recently heard on Yore, Drivetrain (Derrick Thompson) gets thing rolling with “Falling,” an impossibly infectious and hard-grooving cut that works a handful of multi-pitched voice fragments into delicious counterpoint while a throbbing house pulse addresses the rhythm part of the equation. Dorian Gig (Dorian Wilson) then digs into funkier territory with “Sunday in Detroit,” as atmospheric pads and sparkling synth patterns unfurl over a bass-bumping, hip-shaking swing. On the flip side, Dennis Cox opts for a slightly more techno-oriented take on the genre in “Evansville,” which nevertheless catches one's ear with its bass wobble and spacey electronic flourishes. New Soiree Records recruit 2yLiTe caps the EP with a late-night slice of sleek, bass-throbbing called “Love Siren” which oozes just the right degree of Motor City lushness. If there's nothing terribly radical about the Colours concept, the fifth volume's so strong a provocative concept is hardly needed.

January 2010