MAURISSA Vinyl & CDs

Review: What is the crux of the connection between two of dance music's most beloved cities? Dave & Maurissa ask more questions than they answer on London/Detroit, their stellar new soulful deep house LP on Z Records. Formerly known as Joey Negro, Dave Lee is said to have spent the best part of a decade searching for another vocal talent to work with, where an encumbrance of applicants did not made the cut... until Maurissa Rose came along. Notably not by email or "next"-worthy panel judgment, the connection was made via Lee's chance encounter with Maurissa's voice on a Theo Parrish record, after which many an email exchange, .mp3 swap and transatlantic air-shuttling ensued. What emerged was a versatile LP, reflecting the encyclopaedic knowledge of soul and house gone into its making, and the fact that this was the first time that either artist had recorded an entire LP with another across a single dozen-track serving.

Review: Soul meets speed garage on this new V/A EP from Z Records, blurring the lines between the genres in just the way we like it. The opening track - Grant Nelson's mix of 'Starlight' by Dave & Omar - is a euphoric, piano-laced uplifter which both sonically and lyrically urges us to reach for the sky. That's followed by the DJ Fudge production 'Everything' by Chocolate Fudge Band, featuring lots of live instrumentation and a Curtis Mayfield style vocal, while over on the flip, 'Looking For You' proves to be a deep and bouncy cut filled with soulful Motown vocal chops and an organ workout worthy of any Sunday service, over a beautifully wonky house framework.