- "Your record is from Detroit. That means you get an extra ten seconds of listening—don't waste their time." So said Anthony 'Shake' Shakir to Theo Parrish when he received a test pressing of the first Sound Signature record. It's an interesting point, and one that seems particularly relevant when discussing Jason Grove. Little is known about the man except that he supposedly hails from the D, and even that's up for debate. Musically, there is certainly something about Grove's well-swung house and garage that has a smoky sense of US soul to it, but the truth is there is nothing groundbreaking about his music. What he does, he does well, but without the 313 association he might be lost in the shuffle.
To date, Grove's output has come mostly through Skylax, a Parisian deep house label run by Hardrock Striker after which this album is named. Over the course of a handful of EPs and a past LP in 2012 (313.4.Ever), his sound hasn't varied much. One thing's for sure, though: Grove can program a drum machine that speaks directly to your booty, and most of the time he has a knack for picking samples that ignite even the simplest of tracks.
After an authentic enough opening interlude of languid live drums and wilting, sun-kissed melodies, Skylax launches in earnest with "The Love," a muggy, mid-tempo house kicker that sets a nice tone. From there, it's all variations on a theme. "Old Dayz" is a breezy and trumpet-led affair, "Rawkicks" doubles its scuffed and scruffy kicks. "Cut B"'s electric melody gets skewed and twisted through myriad filters. These tracks have an unaffected charm that may not land them in any year-end lists, but drop them at the right point in a DJ set and they're guaranteed to fill a dance floor.
Tracklist01. Interlude
02. The Love
03. Old Dayz
04. Rawkicks 2
05. Cut B
06. Definition
07. John Blue
08. Last Night
09. Lovedits 7
10. All I Need
11. Mastercut 5
12. BB