uschi classen - she

first time i saw the name uschi classen was through "do you believe in love" on a ninja tune compilation, which was recorded as the uschi classen band. technically it was "ashley beedle presents" as a prefix and that name plays a role as classen has been part of that collective with beedle, marc woolford, darren "rocky" rock, darren "diesel" house, daniel hill, linsey edward and a few others. classen is has been responsible for playing keys on most of the releases but is a producer in it's own right as well.

in 2002 classen put out an album called "soul magic" on london label earth project and this was done without any help from the collective. ok, that isn't completely true as marc woolford mixed one track down but that really doesn't count in my book. vocal contributions come from mainly eska mtungwazi and dee ellington who appear on two and three songs respectively. there is also one from atjazz collaborator kimberly "kimra" kimbrough and the legend that is robert owens.

the sound "soul magic" somewhat explains what you might here on the record but it isn't any drastic from any previous output. it's a blend of funky grooves and soulful vocals which sounds like that blend between american r&b and uk bass music but much more smoother. a few of my favourites include the timbaland-esque "wise words", the classic broken beat groover "dizzy heights" and then "she". i also should note that the house mixes that classen created for the single releases of "home", "now illuminate" and "only in your eyes" are brilliant.

if you want to put it crudely then "she" is the showcasing of classens keyboard skills and programming. there is somewhat of a song hidden in between the different keyboard melodies. this is also why i like this track a lot as well though, it's flows well with the drum programming and the waggling moog bassline. it's more rewarding with listening to the details as the layers hide some of the brilliance that is shining through. the only real downer with this track is two soundeffects that is used throughout and is annoying but tolerable.

there is that body & soul kind of house feel within the music and combined with vibrant broken beats it's a good selling point for me. also for people who like 4hero and bugz in the attic in their more "jazzier" days.

listen here (youtube)