- Last year's gorgeous "One" showed that, for all his idiosyncrasies, Seven Davis Jr could turn out a bona fide anthem when he wanted to. On the LA producer's Apron debut, that function is performed by "P.A.R.T.Y.," though this time deep house romanticism is replaced by something sleazier. Its compact, ruthlessly funky groove is pure early '80s Prince, right down to the itchy flares of synth, but the framing is house. The sultry half-spoken tone adopted by Davis and cohort Mezmawho brings to mind Moodymann. Regardless, it's the sort of sex-charged dance floor heater that doesn't come around that often.
Elsewhere Davis indulges his more wayward tendencies, veering between soulful warmth and machine-led weirdness in a way that suits Funkineven's label nicely. In fact, Funkineven takes more than a back seat role: the version of "Celebrations" supplied is his edit. Its filter-happy boogie-house bump would be at home on one of his own 12-inches. Which is not to denigrate it—or the similarly constructed closer "Highways"—one bit. The remaining two tracks are odder, and even more fascinating. "Fun" is almost (but not quite) disastrously loose, its offbeat percussion flying every which way. The clipped snare hits and chords in "Summers," meanwhile, are bursts of light in an otherwise surprisingly dark landscape. There's a deep house tune in there somewhere, but it's so obscured that it comes out like trippy peak-time techno. It's confusing, in other words, but glorious, too.
TracklistA1 Celebrations
A2 Party feat. Mezmawho
A3 Fun
B1 Summers
B2 Highways