- Detroit-style house.
- Theo Parrish and Moodymann release music sporadically these days, and when they do it's just as likely to be a soul, jazz or funk record as it is house music. In Lady Blacktronika, though, we have a worthy substitute. Like her Detroit contemporaries, Akua Marcelle Grant's house tracks are soulful, freeform and rooted in the experience of black America. And unlike her Detroit contemporaries, she's truly prolific, releasing music through her Sound Black Recordings label and others at a rate that even her fans may struggle to keep up with. (With her new techno-focussed Femanyst alias, which has so far represented a pretty seamless transposition of her sound, there are now even more opportunities to connect with her work.) Back To Being A Man is her first Lady Blacktronika EP of 2019, and it exhibits all the qualities that make her an essential name in house music.
Classic pad sounds—hopeful, haunting and melancholic—are a key feature of Grant's music, and this record. They underpin the title track, which opens the record with a wandering bassline and bumping beats. They drift through "Club Fab" and "Wake Up High," which respectively explore post-Parrish and garage-like moods. And even on the more playful, upbeat "He Luvs Cookies N Me Too," Grant's vocal coos, which seem to float by on a breeze, perform a similar role. That this doesn't feel repetitive speaks to the quality and timelessness of Grant's style.
Tracklist01. Back To Being A Man
02. He Luvs Cookies N Me Too
03. Club Fab
04. Wake Up High