CONCLAVE Vinilo y CD

Review: Conclave's self-titled debut is also the first album to be put out by Love Injection Records. The band is the work of multi-instrumentalist Cesar Toribio and features a rotating assembly of musicians including Scott Scribner, Gabo Lugo, Maria Padilla, Scott Bevins, Aquiles Navarro, and Sharin Toribio. The album is an in depth look at claves, which are "a unifying rhythm that holds the key to unlock dances both ancestral and contemporary." The whole thing glows with lush melody, Latin wind sounds and a shuffling, samba-tinged groover that is simply irresistible. 'All That I Need' (feat Sharin) at the heart of the record is a particular standout.

Review: . NYC outfit Conclave are an interesting proposition. Described as "live musical assembly of rotating musicians headed by multi-instrumentalist Cesar Toribio", the outfit makes music rooted by all aspects of Afro-Latin and Afro-Caribbean musical culture. Their second single, Perdon, offers a taste of their forthcoming debut album. The track itself is a bouncy, floor-friendly jazz-funk treat full of intricate instrument solos and spacey synth sounds, but if anything, the accompanying Louie Vega remixes are even better. The Masters At Work Man first transforms the track into an authentic Latin house shuffler (the 'Louie Vega Remix'), before taking a deeper and more driving direction on the more electronic Expansions NYC Dub. Rounding things off is a tidy instrumental version of Vega's main mix.

Review: Man like Louie Vega is now well beyond 50 years old but is still very much doing to do. Here he assumes his remixes hat to spin some magic on a lead single from Conclave's forthcoming and self titled debut EP on Love Injection. That single, 'Perdon', is bustling soulful house with golden licks and great jazzy chords. First up, Vega adds more weight to the drums and gets things pumping, then an Expansions NYC dub gets more dark, twisted and aimed at a peak time dance floor. Last of all, he does what he does best on an instrumental filled with life affirming chords and the sort of soulful riffs we all know and love him for.