Electronic Love Funk

Jeremy Ellis' debut album rounds out an unofficial 2002/2003 trilogy of sorts, one that began with Recloose's Cardiology and continued with John Arnold's Neighborhood Science. All three records have come from Detroit, and all three producers can be tied together in some fashion, whether through collaborations or stylistic common ground. ElectronicLoveFunk is the most ambitious of the three, if nothing near the knockout blow delivered by Cardiology; it's a one-man show, wrapped conceptually around a relationship full of ups and downs. It's also very long -- too long, in fact -- at 70 minutes in length. So, Ellis gives himself plenty of room to flex his many skills, with complex beat programming, even trickier keyboard manipulations, and uniquely soulful vocals on display from start to finish. His sound -- as well as Recloose's and, to a lesser extent, John Arnold's -- is actually closer in spirit to the kind being pumped out by West London producers who've been creating a synth-heavy, dance-friendly hybrid of jazz-funk, house and contemporary R&B called broken beat; "Let This," in fact, with its awesome break and church-steeped vocal, appeared on a couple of mix compilations featuring mostly English producers of that realm. Ellis is more of a songwriter than any of his peers; he's lyrically inspired as much as he is instrumentally inspired by Stevie Wonder. It's plain to hear that he has boundless energy and talent. We know this within a couple minutes of hearing any of his songs. The problem with this is that he often comes across like a kid who's extremely eager to show his visiting grandparents how much he's learned since their last visit. Daunting to take in at once, yet hardly short on pleasures, this remains a very charming and impressive debut. For his next album, Ellis will hopefully realize he has nothing to prove, keep it succinct, and not feel the need to throw in a token "here's where I rock out" track. (A better album title would also help.) ~ Andy Kellman|

リクルースの『Cardiology』に参加し、その後もクロスオーヴァーな活躍ぶりを見せてきたデトロイト新世代組の筆頭、アイロがリクルースのレーベルから待望の初アルバムをリリース!　聴けばわかるその才気走り具合は、ジャジーなグルーヴのなかにソウルフルな官能の花びらを振りまきまくり。アンプ・フィドラーやジョン・アーノルドとはまた違ったエロさがこの人の持ち味のようで……何というか天才的。買うでしょう。
bounce (C)轟 ひろみ