Isoul8 –  Speak Your Word EP

When Multi-tasking reaches a level where you can only spend Sundays with your musical passion, then you know there’s no time to compromise. ENRICO CRIVELLARO aka VOLCOV and ISOUL8 is one of those characters who are fighting on various fronts and therefore take their limited time off to work on music. For the past couple of years he has been running two highly prolific and influential labels by the names of Archive and Neroli. Through this ether he has supported, featured and built artists like THEO PARRISH, DOMU, NUBIAN MINDZ and JUST ONE among others who have now gained recognition on a larger scale. His own productions under the VOLCOV moniker and as RIMA (Album on JCR) with soul mate DOMU led him far beyond the borders of the so-called West London Broken Beat Sound. As his influences reach back to early nineties Chicago and New York house with a soulful twist you can imagine that there is more to his music than just a complex beat pattern.

His debut 12″ on Sonar Kollektiv also functions as a teaser for the upcoming album Balance (SK104CD/LP) and might foreshadow what’s still to come. The collaboration with OSUNLADE developed through a mutual friendship with their booking agent in Italy. Enrico and OSUNLADE met in Milan one evening and listened to some of the beats Mr Crivellaro had prepared for the meeting. Soon after the Yoruba priest sat down and came up with the Moog bassline, rhodes and lead synth. Voice of the moment RASIYAH who already collaborated with prolific artists such as MARK DE CLIVE LOWE, REEL PEOPLE and DOMU contributes a spiritual and philosophical poem about every days choices and chances and standing up for ones beliefs. The B-Side features the unique aptitude of Justin Chapman aka JUST ONE and one half of KEMETIC JUST. His voice is already present in the original version but with his remix you also get a chance to witness his exceptional production skills. At first his odd ways of fusing melodies and rhythm patterns appear to be too far off from the ordinary but that is part of what makes his talent so inimitable. Jazz elements interact with a broken house rhythm and a jumping bassline under the ubiquitous voice of JUST ONE himself. It took us a little while to convince Enrico that even Germans sometimes feel the essence of good vocal house and therefore we feel honoured that he trusts us that this baby is in safe hands.

As if he wouldn’t already invest enough effort into his musical microcosm, Enrico is also running a fruit empire in his hometown Verona, Italy. So whenever you buy an apple or pear in your local grocery store it may have gone through the selective hands of this Italian Mafioso. Be aware !