Jonny Dee “The Human Experience”

Every now and then, we get an album that we really like but struggle to review. That’s kind of the case here, but mainly because this album doesn’t fit into the kind of stuff we regularly listen to. So, whilst we know that we love the beat and feel of tracks like “Rhythm Of Life” and “Live Thursday Night Groove”, we can’t really define the sound or the influences.
We therefore have to rely on how it makes us feel. So, tracks like “Ticketless Trip” and “You” has us wishing we lived somewhere cool and hip and we could cruise around in a convertible blasting them out.
As opposed to the more aggressive tone of lots of rap music, there is more of a laid-back feel to songs like “In The Sound” and “Summer’s Song”. To our untrained ears this sees us recollecting bands like De La Soul or A Tribe Called Quest. In particular, “Luna’s Lullaby” has a real summer 80/90s sound. Whilst “The Man Who Fell From The Sky” just demands to be played VERY loud.
As we’ve said, we’re far from being knowledgeable on this style of music. But, occasionally there’s an act that just catches our attention. Last year it was Astronautilus and DJ Format. Like them, Jonny Dee has a sound which can stretch across musical boundaries (not that there really should be boundaries in music!). This album is a step away from the more cliched rap sound and style. Maybe it does have more of an ‘indie’ vibe to it? Whatever it is, a change is as good as a rest so why not give this a try.