Red Moon is the result of a collaboration between Tony Thomas and Roger Watson (aka DJ Hal), who began working on the project just over a year ago.
Roger came up through the acid house days, is now resident at Bluu in Nottingham, and plays regularly for Tyrant at The Bomb. Tony has previously released records for labels such as Soma, End Recordings, Tango, Logic, Trope and Eukatech/Eukahouse.
Their first release together, 'Centipede/Caterpillar', was a big seller on the Eukahouse label, and made their mark on the underground house scene. As they've been around a long time, DJing and making music, this album reflects the influences that might be expected - acid house, progressive and balearic. It captures a range of emotions from blissed-out sunset chill, through funky progressive house, with subtle hints of acid.
The music is the product of many nights spent on the dancefloor, therefore it's difficult to pin it down to any single genre. Percussion features heavily on many of the tracks, giving them an organic, rooty feel. At other times, techno and quirky electronics are thrown in the mix, while bringing up the bpms for the dancefloor.
The cheekily titled 'Esther The Whore' is a snake-hipped, sensual groove with earthy appeal. 'Beautiful' is lush and lovely. Low-slung beats are paired with a dub tinged vocal, interspersed with a lilting female vocal. Chill to the aptly named 'Gliding', or let the shimmering electronics of 'Ultimata' wash over the senses.
The album builds, picking up the pace with the title track, 'Lucky', which is a chunky piece of bumpy house, given a twist of heavily effected vocal samples with whoosh.
'Love You Long Time' is a happy marriage of bass and spaced-out techno. Tribal influences creep in, and are used in different ways. 'La Corrella' draws on Latin house, and fuses it with a heavy dose of tribal percussion. Traces of acid are found in the wonderful 'Basis (Bass Oddity Mix)', but the overall feel is still deep, rather than bleep.
Other tracks, like 'Make A Move', bring back fond memories of the progressive scene, and of labels like Guerrilla Records at their peak. Red Moon have resurrected the best bits, and given everything a new tweak with splendid results.
'Lucky' has a very emotive feel. There's nothing superficial.
Red Moon are warm and welcoming, so pay them a visit soon.
