- Prime Numbers is the newborn label set up by Moodymann impersonator/heir apparent David ‘Trus’me’ Wolstonecraft, whose reputation has exploded with the release of the fabulous ‘War’ EP and the nearly as impressive album Working Nights, which is easily the best album that Kenny Dixon Jr. never produced.
Prime Numbers 2 is a proper EP in the sense that it brings together three disparate but not disconnected arrangements, all different, and all interesting. ‘RIP’, the A, is the one that’s getting all the hype and play, and it’s no surprise why: it’s as chic a piece of jazzy house as I’ve heard since the glittering second heyday of the deep sound of the late ‘90s. Think Norma Jean Bell, Ibex, Common Factor’s ‘World is Mine’ and Larry Heard’s Trackmode compilations of that time. The arrangement is neat, but the real feature here is the vocal. On first listen my instant reaction was, ‘Shit, who’s this, they can really sing…’ And lo and behold, it’s a beyond-the-grave sample of Minnie Ripperton (hence ‘RIP’) – and this is a dedication that does her legacy proud. My one complaint with this track is that it ends right where a big build should be. But then again, that just makes you wanna hit replay.
The B-sides are less obvious, as all good B-sides should be, but (arguably) more interesting. I wonder what will become of the B-side logic with the death of vinyl becomes a dusty fact? Anyway, the B1 by Regie Dokes and Piranhahead as Napiheadz performs a weird rhythmic inversion, beginning with a nose-forward house groove that slowly (and disconcertingly at first) gets all arse-about-snout as it rediscovers itself as a reggae number. But thankfully for the house DJs among you, the reggae is re-subsumed by old faithful as the boom boom returns, just in time for your segue. The B2, which apparently cropped up on an old Theo Parrish mix a few years back, is very Detroit minimal house by Regie Dokes, and works either as a tool for the more vocally inclined, or a precious and undertated slab of mumbling grooves for those who like it late and lean.
Overall, a varied, accomplished and interesting EP from a promising young label.
TracklistA Linkwood - RIP
B NapiHedz - Jah Bless
B2 Reggie Dokes - Black Thoughts