- There's something about early house vocals—their earnestness, their lack of polish and pretense—that grants them a uniquely human character. Vocals by the likes of Jamie Principle and Joey Washington, just to name two, impress their emotional content on you with their sense of spontaneity. But that was twenty years ago: Is it possible to have such an effect today? If Denis Kurtel's latest single is any indication, you can certainly come close: the vocals by Guests of Nature on her latest single, the perfunctorily titled "Yeah," have a simple, playful directness, never becoming overbearing or sounding too glossy. It's a bit like listening to your friend who is a great karaoke singer—you get pleasure from both the melody and a sense of fraternal intimacy.
"Yeah" marks the latest step in Kurtel's breezy rise. Having started out doing light design at Wolf + Lamb's Brooklyn parties, she quickly joined the label roster, and then skipped over to Crosstown Rebels for a forthcoming full-length, of which "Yeah" is a preliminary taste. Now, some tracks hit you in the heart, others smack you in the ass—"Yeah" sits squarely in the hips, like a low-worn pair of jeans. The groove moves swiftly, bouncing from the upbeat vocals to stretches of resonant bleeps and rising pulses. With its good-time vibe, the tune feels a bit like being greeted at a house party with a cold beer.
Jamie Jones shows off his remix versatility here by offering two distinctly different takes. The Shower Curtain Mix amps the low end and winds everything tight into a hypnotic ketamine stasis that recalls Jamie's work in Hot Natured. The Aquafunk Mix is its brethren's mirror image, adding some more fist-pumping energy, with filtered swirls and terrific bursts of looped drums that make you feel like you're getting shot out of a cannon every 32 bars, providing a dynamic, linear sense of ebb and flow. It completes a deep-house tryptych: Party-starter, late-night burner, sweaty peak.
Tracklist A1 Yeah
A2 Yeah (Jamie Jones Shower Curtain Mix)
AA Yeah (Jamie Jones Shower Aquafunk Mix)