Review: Prohibition - Jamie Berry

One thing that no one could deny about Jamie Berry is that the man is consistent. And as of late, he has been working hard. Last October, Berry put out Light up the Night, his second full length album, and just in June he released The Stampede. Now, only three months later, another EP – Prohibition – has been released, highlighting yet again Berry’s considerable contributions to the electro swing scene. With every new collection, Berry manages to demonstrate his continued ability to create songs with fantastic potential for success, and this new EP is certainly no exception.

The first track is ‘Mockingbird’, which begins with some classic vintage samples, before developing into a leisurely, downbeat, minimal arrangement, eventually emerging as a big brassy beat. This is characteristic-sounding Berry, but slowed-down. There are some nice production effects here; nothing is too overbearing, and it’s all very subtle. Perhaps an unusual way to start, but maybe appropriate – in that it’s carrying on from the adventurousness of his last EP. ‘The Mountain’ is then a lot more upbeat, energetic, and most of all – dancey. The bedroom shuffle dancers whom Jamie Berry tends to attract will be very happy – and it will too be appreciated by everyone from lindy hoppers to ravers. You can never go far wrong with a Cab Calloway vocal; and we have a solid beat – plus the synth lines towards the end are beautifully flowing. This flowy feeling continues into ‘Something in the Air’, with a trip hop-esque infuence, reminiscent of Boogie Belgique, or Mr Woox. It’s still very evidently a dance piece though – Berry has certainly put his stamp on it. By this point, what’s noticeable as well is that all the songs manage to get even better as they progress.

‘Murder in the Moonlight’ is another classic Jamie Berry piece, with some great instrumental samples – some real highlights. There’s a huge build to the drop, which feels like it’s going to add more than it eventually does though – the continuing tune essentially stays the same once it kicks back in, although it does remains strong. Towards the end there are also some surprising dubstep inspired wobbles – a curious development. ‘Shenanigans’ continues with the typical Berry sound, and in this sense is the strongest of the release; this could well become another of his best-known anthems. There’s a much better use of a drop in this one – new and interesting; and overall it’s a very fine track. I’ll be surprised if this doesn’t spread like wildfire throughout the electro swing scene. Finally, the EP ends with ‘Prohibition’, the title track, which starts off sounding suitable large – there’s a very wide sound, and a good use of filter sweeps. The drop is huge – this will work wonders on the dancefloor; and the reed sections sound like they’re constantly accelerating the piece to new places. Again, it’s classic Jamie Berry: this EP is definitely not as adventurous as his last, but in terms of continuing to do what he does best, it’s a success.

It would be hard for one to not enjoy Prohibition. Especially for a fan who’s already familiar, I can’t imagine anyone would be disappointed. What’s striking though, is the compositional contrast between this release and ‘The Stampede’. In my previous review I mentioned that “he seems to be becoming more comfortable stepping outside of his usual formula, and getting away from the standard house sound”. Here – with the partial exception of tracks 1 and 3 – he seems to have largely returned to what he’s used to. So one’s preferred EP of the two will depend entirely on what they’re wishing for from Berry. For the more adventurous, looking for Berry showcasing his development, The Stampede is for you. But for those who already know exactly what they wish to hear from this producer, Prohibition will certainly satisfy your cravings.

Review: Voodoo Sonic (The Trilogy, Pt. 3) - Parov Stelar

Having been producing music solidly for almost 20 years now, Parov Stelar – easily the most recognised name in electro swing, has good reason to approach his releases a little differently. As I mentioned in my latest review of his, Voodoo Sonic represents a trilogy of EPs that collectively make up what is essentially a full album. It’s an interesting method of putting his music out there, and the consequences are that we get more music, with less time in between releases, and that’s something that I’m sure everyone can appreciate. This EP represents the third and final of the trilogy, and again, provides Stelar with another opportunity to demonstrate why he should remain on top. 

The first track is ‘Black Martin’, a beautiful number which starts with a lone piano – such an effective instrument for creating this atmospheric, cinematic mood. The dance beat comes in very smoothly, and whilst the piano becomes a little simplistic as the song progresses, the other instruments manage to recover the initial feeling. A great way to start the release – it’s the Stelar we know, yet clear he’s pushing his music in new ways. This continues into ‘Purple Moon’, which whilst slightly more familiar, is still slower than we might expect, and not really a dance number as such. There’s a really nice fusion of stride piano here with some French jazz manouche – and later on a Spanish guitar emerges as well; together with Stelar’s Austrian roots, this is a very culturally European track. This Spanish influence becomes even more explicit for ‘Tango Del Fuego’ – in which the mood immediately changes to launch us into a classic Stelar dance track. So far, these songs really seem to be taking us on something of a journey. When the drop comes, it could be a bit bigger, both instrumentally and in terms of the mix – but it’s still a solid piece of music.

We remain with the classic Stelar vibes for ‘Pink Dragon’ – which has his signature all over it – more so than any other track on the album. There’s a strange development halfway through, when everything stops and it feels like the song is over – before jumping into what initially sounds like a different track. This eventually resolves, and the two sections come back together for an immensely dancey breakdown. After the excitement of the previous two tracks, we’re returned to a slower, more drifting sound for ‘Silver Line’, sounding a bit like a reprise of ‘Black Martin’. A nice interlude – with a fantastic double bass solo. ‘Red Cat’ then follows with more of the typical Stelar feeling; with its driving beat, this is actually one of the stronger tracks, and hopefully won’t be overlooked. There’s some really quite dark, clashing tones that work excellently here; and the trumpet line in the middle somewhat resembles a call to arms. Indeed, Stelar certainly has leagues of fans that will be drawn to attention in their own respective ways.

‘Crush & Crumble’ leaves no question as to how the song is going to play out – bringing in its outright energy from the get-go. With its Gene Krupa and Benny Goodman samples, this song reminds me wonderfully of just what it is I love about electro swing: listening to this, I can imagine what it was like for fans first listening to the actual swing in the 1930s. And then the final track is ‘The Voodoo Engine’ – and as one might expect, we’re brought back down to close the EP. It’s certainly felt more like a journey than either of the previous two, and not just because of the length. This song starts off sounding like nothing Stelar has ever produced before, with the intro being almost avant-garde. This sets the tone for a suitably epic finish once the beat kicks in, with underlying, sustained chords representing a synthwave-esque influence – perhaps he’s been listening to Faith In The Glitch! There’s such a cinematic quality to this one, and I can easily imagine it accompanying a superhero film or something like that.

Overall, this is a very satisfactory close to the Voodoo Sonic trilogy. Much longer than the previous two, and largely instrumental, this is also the best of the three releases. Where some of the tracks of the previous offerings were less than average, every track on this one is positive overall. Certainly not perfect, but definitely worth several more listens. The subtly implied narrative is also a nice touch, and makes me wonder whether Stelar might be thinking of a concept album for his next project. This is starting to happen more and more in electro swing, with the likes of Dutty Moonshine and the Sweet Life Society doing great things. Parov Stelar has received his fair share of criticism in recent years, and this is to be expected for an artist who’s achieved the type of success that he has – but whilst the cynics will criticise, there is no doubt that he’s still putting out consistent music that his fans will always love.