Innocence & Inspiration (reissue) vinyl

After shining a light on the Garage'n'Breaks of Persian and the Bump'n'House of Brian Bristol, Mysticisms' journeys to a source of love and inspiration, the epicenter of the 90s NYC club music's explosion and development.

Better known as the team behind The African Dream on Eightball Records, they feature on many early 90s NYC who's who of labels including Movin', Strictly Rhythm, Tribal and Oxygen Music Works.

Released as a 12", a 2 x 12" the want of a lot of US labels at the time to mirror the success of Hip Hop saw an attempt to grow House 'projects' from club EPs to being seen as artists via albums. The EP starts with Opening, with warm keys that serve to show this is not your average four tracker, before soon giving way to the deep intensity of Dark Intervals. Tight drums and keys pushing, the vocal samples and swirling atmospherics all yield to a bass calling for loud sound systems.

On the reverse, an immense, spiritual take of NYC music in Innocence And Inspiration. Double bass, swirling arpeggio, tight claps, whistle strings, ridin' jazz fused break-beats and then pure piano cuts through.

To close, Are You With Me My Love?, here included to provide a repost to the grooves that have gone before. A song for sunset and sunrise, with lilting keys, shanty samples, vocal questions and a melancholic horn refrain.

Piers Harrison, Juno Recommends Deep House, Tom Drew