Review

Wipe The Needle Ft. Lifford: Don't Rush (Restless Soul)

"Wipe The Needle" are an act relatively unknown to me, but Phil Asher wouldn’t sign any old track to his Restless Soul label, so I did some digging to find out more about them before I listened to the track.

Being comprised of London born Lee Gomez and Swedish Mikael Nybom, the pair met by chance and soon formed a musical alliance. After the first week of their meeting, they released their first track "Moving On!" Cue the present and the duo have worked with a plethora of respected musicians from the house, broken beat and nu jazz scenes. Vocalists and musicians such as Simon Wilcox (trumpet), Christer Karlsson (rhodes), Ricardo Lavelle (rhythm guitar), Carlene Graham (Bugz In The Attic) (vocals), Jason Miller (vocals, keys, guitar, percussions) and many more give you an idea of the musicianship these guys apply to their music.

After reading their biog, I was intrigued to hear their latest offering "Don’t Rush" featuring the vocals of Lifford Shillingford. The track opens with a nice percussion groove followed by subtle key stabs and an intro vocal. But when the bass pumps, you know it’s going to be much more than a run of the mill tune. A gorgeous, blatantly electronic chord progression kicks in and forms the backbone of the release. This progression carries the track perfectly and sounds more and more delightful after every listen, whilst retaining integrity and character which is what a lot of dance music lacks these days. So far in reviewing to this track, I am really impressed.

This is excellent soulful house, very subtle, not too rushed or hectic but bouncy enough to get you shaking your thang if you were to hear this played out. The production is tight, with a lovely string section too and everything feels like pieces of a jigsaw that all find their sibling counterparts at the first time of assembling. The chorus is also subtle but damn effective! I’ve listened to this quite a few times now and have gone from liking it, to really liking it, to finally calling it a corker!

"Don’t Rush" will grow on you quicker than moss on a driveway, it’s a really solid release.
Words GARETH MORGAN