I was forwarded this link by a friend into house music and my mind was blown....
Alec Carlsson seems to have been blessed with some kind of genetic inheritance giving him super natural abilities to produce house music. His release titled "Doux Velour" on the Chicago based label Stripped & Chewed has so much chunk, funk & groove it really stimulates the shake in ones ass.
"My aim was to make two tracks representing my two loves, deep house and funk. It wasn't a matter of tempo, only an homage to the genre I was raised in." Alec Carlsson
The title track Doux Velour kicks off with some deep filtered disco sample but at a steady tempo, much like a sedated DJ Sneak. With latherings of electric piano chords and shakers he then exposes the claps and percussion that land in just the right funky position in the groove. It progresses into synth and string meanderings in a very tasteful way.
The next track is "Euphoria" which shows off his delicious bass line skills. Also not breaking any land speed records it chugs along at a nice pace with phased synth stabs & some electric guitar clucks and scratches. A sustained string line and little arpeggiated synths give it some more lift & carry the track further on to the end.
The remixes here are just as tasty, "Stripped & Chewed's newest signatories: Chicago Life and Borrowed Identity" do an outstanding job with the remixes. Chicago Life take on Doux Velour bringing a walking 90's bass line and 4 to the floor kick groove succeeding to stimulate that warm up crowd that would be starting to dance in the bar hopping circles. Really cool.
Borrowed Identity spits out 2 mixes of Doux Velour with 2 styles. The "Raw 303" mix is like it says, raw with a very robotic 909 hi hat pattern chugging away and driving the groove. The deep bubbling TB303 bass line eventually winds out to acidic perfection.
The "Raw Jack City Dub" mix has lots of dreamy sustained pads and a very classic pan flute solo that instantly takes you back to those classic deeper house tracks of the 90's. Vocal chops in the breakdown towards the end really seal the deal as a cool as funk vibe.
If this EP was edible it would be served at a hidden gem of a restaurant off the main strip, ran by the same operators since it was opened 30 years ago. Still serving up the same classic dishes it always did. The only catch is he is 17 years old so where the funk did such amazing skills come from? Well like he said he was raised in this genre (upcoming mothers & fathers please pay attention).
When asked about the concept and background Alec replied :
"It wasn't a concept at all, I really wanted to make quality music first of all. Moreover I really trust in the label S&C, I released 3 tracks with them, and those are 3 totally different ones, and they all embody my love for music, for several kind of music. The remixes came to add a real Chicago house touch to the ep, and they are so good."
There are links to Juno on the Soundcloud player. I will be purchasing this as any true lover of good house music should.
Scratchabone Jackson Jnr
