New Territories

Recensione album

Eric Lau's New Territories has something in common with NSM's Heat It Up, DKD's Future Rage, and the more relaxed tracks of 4hero's Play with the Changes, but the recent album from the U.K. it recalls most is Silhouette Brown's self-titled 2005 release. Like Silhouette Brown, New Territories reduces the more energetic, dancefloor-oriented aspects of London broken beat, retains the deceptive abstractions of left-field hip-hop and R&B, and places equal emphasis on mood and songwriting. One possible set of coordinates for Silhouette Brown producers Dego McFarlane and Kaidi Tatham and Lau includes Patrice Rushen's "Remind Me" and Roy Ayers Ubiquity's "Searching" as remixed or covered by the Soulquarians — gentle, nuanced, moving R&B that is equally geared for a relaxed night at home or summer day driving. While Silhouette Brown showcased one principal vocalist and a set of background singers, New Territories features a number of lead vocalists (who all get songwriting credits), with all the production and most of the instrumentation handled by Lau, a Chinese producer born and raised in the U.K. who is occasionally joined by associates on guitar, flute, and keyboards. Tawiah (one track), Sarina Leah (four), Rahel (six), Meshach Brown (two), Tosin (one), and Annabell (one) are all lively yet not showy vocalists and, as with Lau, a healthy balance between love for the '70s/'80s and '90s/'00s is evident, their voices hinting at Donny Hathaway and Deniece Williams as often as Aaliyah and Amel Larrieux. Lau could ride out just about each of his beats for two or three extra minutes without catching any heat, but he keeps it moving — the longest cut is just short of four minutes, only further emphasizing the album's song-based nature. The disc will not resequence your DNA, but it is sturdily designed for the purpose of compulsive listening.