Aybee - East Oakland Space Program
Cover Artwork
Here comes a new album from Deepblak founder Armon Bazile. Actually it's his debut album for the Aybee moniker. I was lucky to have received a copy minutes before leaving the city, as I was about to spend the next 24 hours on a bus. Turns out the album was the best travel companion I could get. Sitting on the bus gave me time to dive deeply into the soundscapes, making me forget about space and time.
That said, I'm not sure if I compliment East Oakland Space Program (EOSP) by calling it a headphone album, but it deserves a lot of attention for the details. As much as the term deep is overused these days, I couldn't think of any more appropriate word to describe the music. If you're familiar with Blaktropolis Volume 1 or Deepblak's work in general, you will know what I mean.
02. Cycles Of She
03. Corner Bending
04. Windows (feat. Karyn Paige)
05. Assignment 7
06. So Much Greater (feat. Erik Rico)
07. Get Free
08. No Mystery (feat. Paul Randolph)
09. Love Of
10. Galactik Slap
11. Why (feat. Blaktroniks)
12. Ozzie Davis
13. Going Home
While the overall mood of EOSP stays homogenic throughout the album, there is enough versatility created by its complex beat patterns, putting it near genre milestones like Carl Craig's Innerzone Orchestra. Ranging from jazzy broken beats to mellow hip-hop beats, Aybee fuses different influences to put together more than just another deep house album. A big surprise are the vocal contributions from singers such as Paul Randolph, Erik Rico or Blaktroniks, which nicely contribute to the album.
My favourite tracks on the album are Ozzie Davis, Why, Hidden Treasures and Going Home.
At the moment, EOSP seems to be available only directly from Deepblak, though it should be available on a wider basis within the next couple of weeks. Limited availability on vinyl has been confirmed, but no release date has been set. I also want to point out this interview with Aybee, giving some background information on the man and his work.