The spirit of J Dilla lives on in many, but few quite as strong as DJ Dez, AKA Dez Andrés, AKA Andrés. Forever treading a line between roughshod house and fuzzy hip-hop, the Detroit native's latest on M1 Sessions once again betrays his friendship with the late great producer, with the results surely the sort of thing Clancy would be serving up now, if he were still around. Though there's no standout quite like "New for U" here, what you will find are irresistibly raw, crunchy grooves.
The opener and title track is a joyous, triumphant beat that sinks delightfully into its kicks and claps with each rotation. "Merry Go Round" is more troubled. A simple loop grinds, weighted down by slapped hits and a heat-damaged two-note melody raining down from above. "Sessions So Long" is the housiest cut, and again has a certain unpolished snap to its boom-bap. Everything sounds slightly damaged, from the veiled vocal hook to the xylophone-like notes which colour the otherwise dusky arrangement. Ending on another sweet note, "Dubb Zone" is lazy and flabby, rocking back and forth on its heels. It does nothing to suggest that Dez couldn't sit in his room, jamming on old bits of gear all day long, with nothing but infectious beats pouring out from start to finish.
Tracklist: Dez Andres - Things U Like
A1 Things You Like
A2 Merry Go Round
B1 Seasons So Long
B2 Dubb Zone
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