Soirée

Soirée's debut album just landed in stores all over, it's one of a few releases I've been holding out to hear for awhile now, mainly because their EP released back in May is one of Bearfunk's '09 highlights. Soirée are Steve Kotey and Max Essa, the two biggest bears at Bearfunk, their collective contributions to the revival and continuation of the broader Disco scene is much much more than merely respectable. I say broader Disco because really their tunes cross through leftfield House, Disco, Balearic, Jazz and Cosmo territories and here on the album you'll find them ever more increasingly mixed up. Max is also singing, his voice features on at least two of my favourite items on the album; the previously released and genius 'Zim Zim Zar Zar (Take Me To The River)' and the equally fantastic 'Synth Inside Her', both are marvelous oddball Euro Disco tracks, both have classic written all over them.

Nothing on 'Soirée' is a pastiche, Steve and Max bring their extensive knowledge about music's past into play with genuine love, not irony, through inspiration, not by copying. 'Pegasus Fly's Over The Red Moon' is beautiful, mellow, a bit Jazzy, a bit dubby. Also on a slo mo trip 'Overgroomed' takes a dubbed out jungle journey with Mick Karn'ish bass moves, cowbells and raw rhythms. 'Seven Sins From Heaven' heads west and finds moisture in the desert. 'More Steam Hercule' further mines Soirée's love of the dub, with Bluesy beardy Rock overtones, spaced out keys and a thick hypnotizing laid back beat. 'Soirée Theme' wraps it all up in uplifting, mid tempo, smooth, Jazz Funk which sounds like it could have come off a Lee Ritenour album - perfect to roll the credits over, credits which include Robin Lee (from Faze Action) on engineering duties and Dave Barbarossa (from Bow Wow Wow) drumming on a few tracks. 'Soirée' is an essential buy.

Soirée - Synth Inside Her