- If you said "Belonging" is a "deep" track you'd be fairly on point, but you'd also be understating its wonky brilliance. Here Wareika plays a game of rhythmic limbo—how low can you go?—and in the end it's safe to say that the risk is dwarfed by the reward: a gorgeous slow-mo soul-cleanser. The trio's proclaimed love for afro-sonic geniuses like Sun Ra and Tony Allen is in full effect: "Belonging" is borne of the sort of collective/fusion spirit that makes music like Ra and Allen's so captivating. Thus while having three guys in your electronic group might seem unnecessary—aren't machines supposed to be doing the work?—or even putting the groove at risk of over-saturation, "Belonging" gives every indication to the contrary.
After an intro of sampled drums laced with warm vinyl crackle, "Belonging" unfolds dense and wobbly, full of little bonky surprises, muted jazzy synth warbles and murky soul. Spacey, warm and inviting, it reminds you why after-hours was invented: to give full reign to that smoothed-out plateau of weightless pre-dawn solace. It's a fitting addition to Eskimo's trippy, progressive universe, and quite a departure from their 12-inch on Connaisseur earlier this year, where the group's Afrobeat tendencies were kept in check via a pair of smoothly jackin' house grooves.
Needless to say it's the instrumental side which allows you to delve deeper into the underbrush of narcotized polyrhythms. On the A side, some of the finer beat points get occluded by vocals of soulful attestation: "I stand still…I know my belonging." Underneath the smoked-out drum circle adds "welcome to the tribe, you're one of us." So if you talk about how good music moves you, you can also remember that some of it designed to keep you in place and open your eyes. Deep house tracks like this are the counterpart to expansive, voyage-centric numbers because they undergird the feeling that sometimes actually you don't need to go anywhere at all, and that happiness is—bizarrely enough—sometimes right in front of you.
Tracklist A Belonging
B Belonging (Instrumental)