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And it’s not only Hectic that’s giving Berlin’s Georg Levin and Steffen ‘Dixon’ Berkhahn the big-ups. Mr. Gilles Peterson seems to have taken it very personal and adopted it as his ‘soundtrack’ to 2007.

So can this pairing of top German DJ/promoter (Dixon) and multi-faceted musician/media expert (Levin) actually produce a coherent album? In short, yes they can. They’ve have got all their influences together and combined with a few of their big name mates to help out. Basement Jaxx’s cameo performance on ‘I’m Your Lover’ is one of the reggae-tinged tracks while other guests include Paul Randolph, Carl Craig and Robert Owens.

Their big track of a couple of years ago, ‘Make ‘Em Shake It’, is included here and it’s hard to say that its overshadowed as it’s the most obvious dance floor hit. ‘Damn (You’re Here)’, with its R&B leanings, ‘Moonlight’ and ‘Get Another Girl’ are more commercially focused.

The album’s got elements of European pop/dance (particularly ‘Loud’) mixed with say Coldcut’s Sound Mirrors album, Robert Owens being a common link. The only track that falls down fall me is the Prince-inspired ‘Diamond Wedding’ that’s rather angular compared to the smoothness of the rest of the tracks.

By the end, instead of the ‘climax’ of some big bangers, they’ve opted for a less obvious conclusion. ‘Holding You’ is a mere snippet of an interlude but there’s a dark stirring of an opera going on there that could have been explored. Luckily, ‘Sun In My Candlelight’ has some of the inspiration of Thief’s Sunchild (more Jazzanova connections) with its mellow big strings aimed firmly at the Big Chill to Ibiza sunrise sets. It even mutates into a flamenco samba towards the end and the flame flickers into the last days of summer.

And while we’re on the subject of sun and summer, ‘Shine’ finishes off the album bringing rays of mellow love to the dark corners of our soul.

As Wahoo originally came together as a remix project (see the recent Ben Westbeech ‘Hang Around’ and Voom:Voom )’s ‘Oggi’) so the chances are that we’ve not heard the last of this album but I can’t believe there’s a more definitive versions of ‘Sun In My Candlelight’ or ‘Shine’.

‘Sun In My Candlelight’ or ‘Shine’ are worth the entrance money alone but there’s lots more here. This is a might fine album.

Hectic Mix nomimations: ‘Sun In My Candlelight’, ‘Shine’, Don’t Take It Personal’, ‘Damn (You’re Here)’, ‘Get Another Girl’, ‘Moonshine’, ‘I’m Your Lover’

Reviewed: Wahoo — Take It Personal (Fine/Four) Release date: 27th August 2007
Tracklisting:
1 Don’t Take It Personal (4:05)
2 Loud (3:35)
3 Get Another Girl (3:27)
4 Damn (You’re Here) (3:57)
5 I’m Your Lover (3:39)
6 Wishing (3:50)
7 Make Em Shake It (4:06)
8 Diamond Wedding (1:41)
9 Moonride (3:48)
10 Holding You (Interlude) (1:38)
11 Sun In My Candlelight (5:22)
12 Shine (4:27)

Links:
www.wahoo-music.net
www.myspace.com/wahoomusic
www.basementjaxx.co.uk
www.georglevin.com
www.inercityvisions.com
Gilles Peterson :: Thursday 31 May :: Heavy Hitter Funk Mix
Wahoo — ‘Don’t Take It Personal’ (George Levins Edit) (Fine)