- Reel People is the combination of music production between Papa Records founder Oli Lazarus and engineer Tom Davidson and after various successful tunes since their forming in 2000, their new works in 2003 are looking to push the instrumental vocal house genre in great directions. And with the first single from their forthcoming album Second Guess, Reel People are back in the soulful groove spotlight with ‘Can’t Stop’.
You will be mentally thrown straight into a great jazz club as you get the full effect of the jazzy vocal house beats that 'Can't Stop' provides. This is as smooth as jazzy house gets and joined by the vocals of talented Angela Johnson from New York together with a full brass setup which features ‘Level’ Neville Malcolm on Bass, Basil Black II Basic on Percussion, Scott Baylis on Trumpet, Jamie Anderson on Sax and Dave Williamson with his Trombone. ‘Can’t Stop’ is a great mood lifter, thanks to the vibrant sounds, varying swings and beautiful instrumental work.
Along side the original of Reel People’s great work is 3 varying remixes by Dennis Ferrer - who is known for his work across the board, from soulful house to gospel and pan-African sounds together with jazz and various other musical forms on a number of record labels. With the Falling 4 U mix Dennis brings in a slightly more tribal club sound for those demanding jazzy house dance floors, while still keeping the huge sing-a-long vocal and introducing the piano. The next (Musapella) is a minimal version bringing out the vocal in a much simpler way and again using some beautiful piano chords with all the jazziness and soulful sounds of the original. And finally the Runaway Drums mix provides a bigger more bass driven beat, which is stripped of the vocals and jazzy sounds with the main purpose for DJs to toy with.
This release is perfect for atmospheric bars, and relaxed grooving clubs that require a hybrid sound between jazz and vocal house. For those of you in London, the Reel People will be performing live at the Jazz Café on Saturday April 25 and there is a press showcase at Spitz on Thursday March 13.