Chicago’s Vick Lavender provides the ‘Essance’ of deep house for Mister Bear
Lavender comes up smelling of roses again
Vick Lavender, the veteran Chicago producer and owner of Sophisticado Recordings, has been talking to Juno Daily about his new four tracker for the Mister Bear label, ‘Essance’ EP.
Lavender has been a mainstay in the house scene since the 1990s, and his signature take on the genre has seen him continue to grow and morph with each release. His sound is one permeated by soulful and rhythmic masterclasses, encompassing the most delicate of melodic-laden sequences alongside euphoric, rolling drums set to elevate any dancefloor.
His discography is testament to that, either via releases under his own name or as part of the groundbreaking live house band Mr A.L.I, which helped to form the nucleus and ethos of his Sophisticado Recordings imprint, which has been going from strength to strength since its first release back in 2006.
“The ‘Essance’ EP was a pleasure to record,” he told us, “We got a chance to stretch out and really incorporate different bits from different genres of the music I love. Anyone who’s familiar with my productions over the years can hear bits of jazz, r&b, Afro Cuban rhythms, as well as experimental.
The ‘Somebodies Samba’ track featuring Angel-A is a perfect example of our ongoing quest to challenge ourselves to not stretch out but get it right once we do. Justin Dillard’s keyboard work on this EP is nothing short of phenomenal, his attention is definitely something you can hear and feel in each of the four offerings.”