The endlessly inventive musical creator known as Dego will release his own solo debut “A Wha’ Him Deh Pon?” this summer in 2011. Having recorded several seminal albums with his previous musical collectives 4hero, 2000black, Silhouette Brown and under the moniker, Mr. GoodGood, “A Wha’ Him Deh Pon?” marks Dego’s continuing musical evolution, integrating his past as an avatar of electronica, jazz, dub and soul, while blazing a new path forward beyond convention and expectation.
Dego has composed a love letter to the subtle sonic textures of vintage keyboards, the musical intelligence of fusion jazz, and the farthest edges of progressive soul. The album reveals Dego’s profound love for the simple physical pleasure of a perfect beat, but also his boundless curiosity for reinventing the most sophisticated elements of classic funk and electro.
Even within a single song, Dego manages to take listeners on a journey across time. “Late Night Fright,” for example, begins by harkening back to the heyday of dub and drum ‘n’ bass, the club oriented music of Dego’s youth, before slowly dissolving into a dreamy jazzy soundscape, mirroring Dego’s own musical evolution. Elsewhere on the album, Dego joins forces with a carefully-selected roster of singers and instrumental collaborators. “We Are Virgo” is a collaboration with jazz multi instrumentalist Kaidi Tatham, that blends several time signatures, drawing on a rich palette of analog synthesizer sounds.
A funky tangle of old-school acid house arpeggios, mixed with a bouncing soul groove, featuring vocals by up and coming British singer Obenewa, “All That She Knows” is a song about someone caught in a spiral of self destructive behavior, and struggling with the fear that glues them to the habit.
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“The Monarch” features an array of vintage keyboards layered like sonic filigree. The drums have a raw, breakbeat edge: a ragged high hat and crispy snare provide the frame against which a descending chord pattern alternates with a more upbeat section that evokes a mildly hallucinogenic mood of good cheer. “Start A New” surges with celebratory funk vocals, and a sense of a life endowed with a joyful mission. “Right From Wrong” begins with a cool, throbbing pulse, like a Japanese woodblock tuned up a few octaves and popping away in syncopated counterpoint to a fat rubbery bass-line. – Dimitri Ehrlich
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Read Mundovibe’s interview with Silhouette Brown vocalist Lady Alma
