Sleepwalking - Rae & Christian

Sophomore syndrome strikes again. Which is a desperate shame for Rae & Christian fans awaiting a sizeable chunk of UK cool in the vein of Northern Sulphuric Soul, which took in b-boy attitude with pop sensibility between the lush and the lounging. Imagine my horror when a leading UK dance magazine featured R&C on the front cover recently, heralding them as the future of British R&B. Given the downright dirty collaborations with the likes of The Jungle Brothers and Jeru The Damaja, R&B certainly wasn't part of this mild-mannered hip hop manifesto. Yet Sleepwalking floats on by and has sugar-sweet saccharine stamped all over it. What prompted this musical shift is ...  Read the complete review

I had only previously encountered Rae and Christian via their remixes for the likes of Moby , Lamb and Red Snapper. Their remixes had never really disappointed me or made me stop and catch my breath. They were one of those bands that I would have easily passed by,with neither having a negative or positive opinion on their work. However Uncle Dooyoo made me an offer I couldn’t refuse ;a promo copy of their new album ‘Sleepwalking‘ in return for a review. A temptation too great to refuse. Not only would it be interesting to review something I had very prior knowledge of , but also it would give me a chance to hear something new and outside my current ...  Read the complete review

The Pharcyde, Bobby Womack, Tania Maria, The Congos, Siron, Jigmastas and Kate Rogers bring their sizable vocal & writing talents to an album, which I think is going to propel this band to new heights in the coming year. Having bought this album on Monday and having given it some heavy rotation over that last four days I have to say I’m a little disappointed, don’t get me wrong it’s a really good album, in fact it’s too good, compared to Northern Sulphuric Soul, Sleepwalking is very polished and exceptionally well produced. Which for me is where the main floor lies, unlike NSS’s raw edge this is silky smooth, NSS had a certain ...  Read the complete review