Although Roger Sanchez describes this as his "debut artist album", First Contact is not strictly speaking his first. Sanchez is no long-player virgin. Secret Weapon under his Roger S moniker, came out in 1994, followed by a second volume a year later.
But First Contact is the first album to carry his full name and Sanchez clearly intends to distinguish it as something above and beyond what's gone before.
It's also significant that this is his first long player in six years and a lot has changed since then. Most noticeably dance music has grown-up to become a major force - and along with it so has Roger.
Sanchez occupies an almost unique space in the dance world, being both a celebrity DJ and a credible underground forefather figure. He is the purveyor of New York grooves, but is international and expansive in his tastes as is clear from his A&R work for his own record label, Rsenal. As an individual he has a justified reputation for being a world champion charmer.
After its long gestation period the expectation is that First Contact will be little short of Sanchez's musical magnum opus, stuffed with historical and cross genre references.
So it's satisfying that the P-funk, Clinton-like tone of the title is picked-up as an opening theme on both the vinyl and CD versions of the LP as a computer generated voice takes its queue from Star Child, and takes over the controls.
'Computabank', the opening track, is driven by an Eighties synth-pop keyboard line being besieged by plunging Nineties effects and is refreshingly stripped of single potential.
The follow-up, 'Ventura', bounces straight into joyous funky filtered house, while the choral keyboard voice provides a tastefully understated hook. Again the track, despite being if anything over familiar with the dancefloor, has no pretensions about being anything other than an album track and the final twist is delivered when the song dissolves into a gut string, Balearic guitar outro.
Into this nestles 'Another Chance', the already anthemic dance track of 2001, which is most remarkable because it was made by an American, rather than a European.
The title track, 'Contact', repeats Sanchez's trans Atlantic nature by riding in on an early Eighties synth bass line that initially sounds more like Frankie Goes To Hollywood than anything from New York. But within 30 seconds, the angular rhythms are split in two by a disco bass line, revealing a funky soul and leaving the high end free to roam through a decade of dance floor synth effects, backed up by a sustained chorus chord.
The 'Partee', the only track apart from 'Another Chance' to credit a sample, again delves into Sanchez's roots, this time marrying Latin carnival beats to the odd synth gloop. 'You can't Change Me' is the first really big vocal anthem on the album, and it comes surprisingly late. The vocals are delivered by N'Dea Davenport, who as ever makes herself noticeable beyond the mere presence of her voice. Armand Van Helden's contribution is less obvious, but the smart money is on this being a single.
'I Never Knew - feat. Coolie's Hotbox' possesses equal, if not more, single potential, being a pop-disco-soul-garage-hip swinger. The lyrics go: "You want it just as bad as I do, but, you see, I never knew you were feeling the same thing to…". Luckily, having got this out of his system, Sanchez doesn't "feel the same thing" again.
By way of contrast the Prelude disco-funk of 'Nothing To Prove' sees Sharleen Spiteri's vocals fit perfectly into the seductive soulful production to provide one of the album's highlights.
Finally 'Leavin' is a cello led, tightly sung, trance hinting, off kilter breakbeat, mid paced progressive-garage broken thing, making it easily the most experimental and interesting of the offerings here. Plug it in and watch it melt.
Not surprisingly First Contact will romp confidently into this year's top ten dance releases, not because it contains awesome songs, but partly because it's crafted well as a whole album, and more importantly because, well, it's Roger.
You see. Sanchez. He cares. And it shows.
