What do you call an album featuring Mercury Prize winner Speech Debelle, critically acclaimed novelist Irvine Welsh and international spoken-word artist Bajka? Doorsteps by DJ Kormac of course.
DJ Kormac was once famed for his “diggin’ in the crates” approach to making music. Second hand shops proved a treasure trove for the Dublin native with a knack for rescuing sounds banished to distant memory and making them the heroes of his first two EPs and debut LP, Word Play.
Doorsteps, however, sees Kormac allow the sounds of yesteryear to rest in peace as he enlists living legends and a Big Band to deliver a modern musical anthology.
The title of the album probably refers to the fact it was made by paying home visits to the feature artists with a portable recording-set up. But rather than having that “made in a bedroom sound”, the production is cinematic enough to feel as if you are front row at a concert.
The tracks skip happily between those that have bass on steroids to trumpets bellowing out with purpose; meandering pianos to drums that flit between those found in hip hop, and those more at home on a drum and base number.
Doorsteps’ most impressive feature is the artists curated to lend their vocals over the 10 track project.
Bajka’s soulful vocals open the project before MC Little Tree lets rip with a crazy flow on Superhero. Speech Debelle delivers a quiet urgency via White Noise while Irvine Welsh’s words transform Another Screen into a trippy little song.
It’s fair to say that listening to Doorsteps from start to finish is like going to a super club with a variety of rooms catering to all possible musical tastes. There’s something for hip hop fans, while drum and bass heads also get a shout out. Fans of chill out music will find a couple of tracks to keep on repeat and there is no shortage of kooky little numbers for those who pride themselves on having musical taste left of mainstream.
If you prefer to have your music match a particular vibe you are trying to create, expect to have to press skip a few times during your listen. But variety is the spice of life as the saying goes, so if you can keep up with the ever shifting pace of the album, Doorsteps is definitely a goer from start to finish.
[Rating:4]
Doorsteps is available on iTunes
