Obey City – Champagne Sounds

Although this is his first full international release, Obey City has been a fixture of the New York club scene for many years. Sam runs the Astro Nautico label and their associated parties at the Freecandy Gallery and Arts Centre in Crown Heights. As Benii B of BBC Radio One witnessed and cited last year – there is a New-New York emerging around warehouse soundsystems where young djs and producers are ignoring dance genre and building communities and audiences that merge the performance-art spirit of The Kitchen with the experimentation of London’s DMZ. An open playground of dance genres far off the grid; out of site from this pivotal city’s great music publications. It’s with great pride LuckyMe gets to play a small part in an exciting new movement unconcerned with any rules or commerce. In Sam we have signed a quiet, unassuming lynchpin of an important city at an important time – he records for LuckyMe, runs Astro Nautico, DJs and produces for Flatbush Zombies and a constant collaborator and recording engineer for New York’s latest R&B vocalists. Sam Obey is a producer, proper. Someone deserving that titles original context.

Introduced to us by Machinedrum 3 years ago – Sam Obey was a perfect fit for LuckyMe. This is dance music. It’s hip hop influenced. At times it’s intensively detailed and hyper active. Others it’s refined and concerned only with harmony. This music carries a unique voice steeped in Slow Jams, Prog & Gospel. But Sam can’t ignore the club and the outcome is a vision of R&B in 2013, made with the grandeur of Quincy Jones and the snap of Jahlil Beats.

Opener Reflect Effect sets the scene by building to ever more histrionic heights – submerging into Quantum Phase which pairs southern military drum work outs with warm jazz chords and ridge- racer-esk topline. Tell Her rains arps on a wistful piano to close Side A. Turning the vinyl, Uptown Pumps eludes to House influences but can’t stay contently minimal, expanding into a storming half time in 7/8. Cyber Stream is a bold and upfront club weapon built on a parray of triplets. Finally, our closer Fallin’: a joyous romantic epic that perhaps best captures the spirit of Obey City. It’s agonizingly beautiful and with a vocal by Oliver Day Soul is a hint of thing to come as we pull focus on his completely vocal follow up, Merlot Sounds, out later this year.