DJ Alex Corton – Vinyl Reviews

Good Looking Records

Makoto – Believe In My Soul

2007

Our next album in the Mini Album series on vinyl for Good Looking is the follow up to Makoto’s 2003 release, ‘Human Elements’. The music had materialized into a quicker BPM and a more liquid sound by this era, and as we venture through the six tracks on here, you’ll clearly hear this. 

  Of the Eleven tracks that you’ll find on the full compact disc version, it was surprising that they cut five of them off the vinyl release. Saying that, we do have the full side for each of the six tracks on here and a couple were out on 12” and therefore already reviewed. 

   We miss out on ‘Spangle’, ‘Blackbird’, ‘Flying High’, ‘Eastern Dub’ (which had Pt. 2 out on 12” single release, reviewed during the Black & White series), and then a couple of remixes, one by Marky (already reviewed) and then ‘Inside Your Love, remixed by XRS. 

    Artwork duties on here went to Levi Philips who is the DJ and Producer, Blade. He kept a similar style to Gareth’s in the way the design holds an animated ‘Anime’ print work of Makoto and the Japanese temple gateway logo on the back of the sleeve. All the labels on the records are a straight Black & White cut from the tunes from GLR that were released from 2007 to 2009. Levi, please feel free to add any info you have on this one? I’ll add it in, on your recollection, and with thanks!

   Side A on the first disc, sends out the vibes for this album with ‘Feels Like Heaven’. While the sprinkling of Makoto’s early work is interwoven, you do hear how the pace had risen and, for me at least, lost a little of the life that was in the music. Those live elements (Human Elements you could say) had gone and the solo project of Makoko was based purely on the flavors of liquid drum and bass. Now, I’m not dissing this album, when you place it in the category of liquid drum and bass. It works really well and pushes out a well rounded collection of tunes. 

  Side B is ‘Freedom Suite’ which adds a few more musical moments than the A Side, has a really cool first breakdown that primes the tune with that catchy, riff bass line, which we all know was a massive strength of Makoto’s work. There’s a real summer jazz lens on ‘Freedom Suite’, which collects the clouds and discharges them out the sky for a beaming heat ray on your soul. 

   On the second disc on Side C, we have Makoto joined by an MC who featured on Progression Sessions 9. Shelley Debenham is Deeizm. She put herself on the map with the ninth Prog Session CD and since then, collaborated with the likes of Nookie, A Sides, dRamatic, Electrosoul System and Marky. ‘Waiting’ rattles along until the breakdown with Deeizm which sets a relaxing tone with the harmonies of pads and choral “woo-hoos”. The tracks bass is pretty decent, mixing a deep hum with a little electronic static in the frequencies there. 

  Last up on plate two is ‘Open Your Eyes’ on Side D, which has a great sax breakdown that compliments the bass and vocal really well. This is the fourth track on the album and the beats so far have sounded almost identical to the other three. You can understand why when DJs played liquid at this time, it was the music behind the beats that many were listening out, for variance and creativity with. Makoto was able to provide a strong sense of musical ideas and keep that IV of freshness attached. The music was moving into those interesting realms between the drum and bass of old and the new wave of what was to be. 

   This release was cut at Heathmans Mastering Studio in London. The CD though was pressed up in Blackburn. The label seemed to be assembling a patchwork of people and companies in some different and unsuspecting ways.

  I’m reviewing the last plate on this album tomorrow. Just two tracks, so until then! 

   My blog has a fair few Good Looking reviews on it if you want to revisit the write-ups. Go and dive in, why not?