It would be hard, when discussing the year that Futuristica Music have just had, not to cite the undeniable magic that seemed to have had such a strong hand in everything they did. There was something almost serendipitous in the way that some of their exceptional projects came together and while we'll touch on those a little later in this piece, we naturally need to discuss the project that spearheaded their momentous year - Deborah Jordan's 'See in the Dark'.
Jordan's third solo album came after a considerable gap since 'What You See' in 2011. And even though the years in between were continually productive - with numerous guest appearances for artists ranging from the late, great, rapper Ty to vocalist Malena Pérez and producer As Valet, as well as helping to mentor the next wave of Futuristica talent - Deborah Jordan taking centre-stage is absolutely her rightful place.
The rapturous reception that 'See in the Dark' was met with absolutely proved that.
Brought to life by a dream team of Futuristica affiliates including production from label founder Simon S, Marc Rapson, K15, Mecca:83 and Tris Browne, the album boasts varied musical soundscapes like the sweet R&B of 'You Should Know', the broken beat inspiration of 'Stay With You' and 'Horizon', the harder-edged beats of 'Machine' and, of course, the album's lead single, 'I'll See You Again'.
Poignantly, the song was created following the passing of Jordan's mother and you can't help but marvel how an experience as painful to overcome as losing a loved one can go on to create a piece of art that subsequently provides a shining light for others in those same circumstances. And therein lies part of Jordan's strength and charm and it is indicative of why people have come rushing back to her music after so long.
'See in the Dark' has really been the album that just kept on giving as the A-list talent assembled delivered some staggering remixes throughout the year. 'Horizon' brilliantly reconnected Jordan with her former Silhouette Brown collaborator, Kaidi Tatham; a separate remix from the always awesome DJ Spinna scored highly also as did a remix of 'Senses' that paired Jordan with Nicolay from the Foreign Exchange. But the task of revisiting 'I'll See You Again' could really only fall on to the shoulders of the song's original architect, Marc Rapson.
This release presents 'I'll See You Again' in two inspired contexts - firstly, when answering the question of how you take a perfect five minute fifty-two second song and make it *better*... well, you simply make it four minutes and six seconds longer! While the extended edit is genuinely everything you could want it to be, Rapson's Rework once again justifies the genius that Futuristica have in him. Frankly, Rapson accomplishes the impossible by taking, in essence, a string-laden ballad and morphing it into something reminiscent of a 90's hip-hop production - or something that early Electric Conversation would have been all over for either of their incredible releases. To be a fan of the original, this would really need to be heard to be believed.
As we mentioned at the top of the article, Futuristica Music have had an incredible year. Long-in-the-making full-lengths from Georgie Sweet ('Misunderstood') and Nathan Thomas ('Still Water') were incredible highlights for the year as was the return of LaNote to the fold whose single 'One Way' raises expectations incredibly high for the As Valet-produced album due out in mere months. As just one of a slew of releases due out next year, Futuristica Music look set to celebrate their fifteenth year in all the style they deserve.
And with that, Futuristica close out 2020 as they began it - with a song that ranks as one of the best to have ever emerged from their 14 years of hallowed archives.
No comments:
Post a Comment