Graham Reid | | <1 min read
Sola Rosa: Del Ray
Sola Rosa (known to his folks as Andrew Spraggon) has frequently recalibrated our expectations of local electronica and for this ambitious outing, his fourth album, he once again sets his sights far over the immediate horizon.
On a global sojourn through space and time he seems to stumble into the exotic world of James Bond flicks in the late Seventies (the opener The Ace of Space) and follows that with some funky soul elevated by guest vocalist Iva Lamkum (whom Elsewhere is pleased to have hailed about 18 months ago).
Elsewhere there are Latin-style trumpets and scratching (the terrific, loping Del Ray has hints of Latino star Juanes about it), the thump of Forties jump jive (Humanised with singer Bajka), splashes of reggae (a little cliched in the toasting it needs to be said), superb guitar throughout from Ben White (acoustic and electric) and much more.
The sheer musical diversity (and channeled energy) here lifts this one well above the pack, and above the previous output by Sola Rosa.
There's also an admirable democracy here and the news that Spraggon is taking this on a national tour with a live band (and some of the guest artists) tells you this is the album which is going to take him on the long journey which this one suggests.
Angela Soutar - Dec 26, 2009
I love this for its variety - and it has been given approval by other household members, a real cheerful one to play over the summer holidays. i can understand that elsewhere wants to focus on music we NZers might not otherwise find, but this and Dimmer's would be on my best for 2009 list if I had a wide enough collection!
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