this one i came across when i was looking for more jonathan bäckelie tracks a few years ago, i've established that i am a fan of his vocal work and i tend to enjoy most of the tracks he produces/colloborates on. the person he collaborates with on this is no other than dutch techno legend gert-jan bijl/gerd.
this track is from gerd's second album and it's a very good r&b song in the style of babyface's productions. it's groundwork is a great bassline, some snappy drums and of course keys, pads and strings. but it's all low-key and i like it like that. if anyone read my entry about miguel & j.cole's "all i want is you", this description doesn't come as a shock.
the track stays grounded and so does jonathan until the last part where bäckelie unleashes a sort of frustration that's powerful. this whole modus operandi is typical late 80's/early 90's r&b and i really like how the track unfolds.
buy here (junodownload)
but there is something weird of introducing gerd as a techno producer and then talking about an r&b song. for anyone that knows gerd's productions after the millenium it's established that he's shifted sound towards more soulful sound. before he was known for the techno, in particular the mid 90's techno that was coming out of holland that was not quite tech-house, not quite techno and not quite trance.
so i think it was a sort of an electric dylan moment, the same that happened to john beltran when he left his detroit techno and started making latin house, when gerd turned out an album in 2001 that was filled with trip-hoppy stuff, some drum & bass flirts, latin influences, broken beat and basically anything not techno. it was well produced and so was john beltran's material but it wasn't techno.
i think eventually some of the people who shunned the albums will give it's props again and not dismissing it as lounge material in gerd's case and in beltran's case, clichéd latin house. or whatever, i'm probably talking out of my arse on this one but it's just the way i see it.
i do have to mention that on gerd's first album he does something as awesome as an instrumental cover of leon haywoods classic "i wanna do something freaky to you" (known to most people as dr dre & snoop dogg's "nuthin'd but a g-thang"). gerd knocks out of the park with his synth-work and i love the subtle french horn in the back while the bass is packing underneath.
buy here (junodownload)
another well recommended track, but do get leon haywoods original as well, it's that sexy.
buy here (amazon)
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