Tide's Arising [Import]

Where to start? Or where to carry on since Mark's put some of his own notes on here? But this cd for me is one of the best pick-ups of 2005. Mark De Clive-Lowe's no stranger to the sound or the genre and the musical connections. The dj's he's worked with is staggering; whether it be house, hip-hop, R&B to DJ's in Japan and throughout Europe. I first really got into his sound off of Rainer Truby's "Glucklich" series where the pumped up electro samba 'El Dia Perfecto' kicked in before 'What's Baby Singin' and have followed since... and am glad that they're available state-side!

This cd is amazing. It's got a little of everything in it. Blissful beats, psychodelic trip, smooth & soulful vocals and that "thing" that loops you back for more... maybe it's just 'quality'. The CD starts out with the perfect intro "Misina's World". Percussion and a sort of slight jazzed-up affair take you right into "Slide", a track where when you think you've gotten the gist of the beat and vibe, it slides a little something extra at the end of the verses... right with the keys. "Travelling" follows it up, featuring Bembe Segue and Capital A (Antoine Green, I believe... from "Serve it Up"). It's a free flowing rap - albeit a little short! But the cut that really blew me away followed it: "State of the Mental". This is the type of cut where you really can feel the beat, and get into Bembe's vocals and the genius of the track design. It's bliss! You close your eyes and get taken to another world. I could rave on about all the cuts but heck... just pick this up and see it for yourself. "Pino + Mash", "Tide's Arising", "Heaven" and "4.Y.V." were a cut above too. Oh yeah, and don't hit 'stop' after track 13.

This is slammin'. It's broken beat heaven with some smokin' soul jammed in, crazy fun to spin. You can tell that they had fun making the album and let creativity take control. Just look at some of the artists that were included - Nathan Haines, Bugz in the Attic, Bembe Segue, and loads more. Cuts on this will most definitely be on several playlists for some time to come. But the real question is... when will the feature remix project come?? Imagine how the Bugz, Gilles Peterson, Kyoto Jazz Massive, Rainer Truby, Phil Asher, Jazzanova, 4 Hero and several others will remake some of these tunes. And if you dig this, by all means check out work by those DJ's, or just go by labels... Ubiquity, Compost/Sonar Kollectiv, etc. This is a bit different from his last release, far more funky. But it's still a great cd - and if possible you might want to check the vinyl.

Along with co-conspirators Bugz in the Attic, 4Hero, Restless Soul and few others, Mark de Clive-Lowe is forging the sound of the future. His second album, "Tide's Arising," brims with ambition as the classically-trained pianist, producer, remixer and DJ ably bounds across Broken Beat, Nu Jazz, Deep House, Electro Funk and styles that haven't even been named yet. This will easily rank among the best electronic music albums of the year.