(Deep House, Tech House) Acumen - My Girls - 2016, MP3, 320 kbps

French DJ, label owner, producer and live act Acumen is back with a brand new album entitled ‘My Girls’. Written over six months locked in his studio, it features eleven tracks produced with my heart and soul and shows his wide set of skills and great depth of ideas as well featuring fine guests like Dave Seaman, Lopazz and Betoko. Having put music out on Get Physical and Mobilee with the likes of Richie Hawtin, Loco Dice and Laurent Garnier all counting themselves as fans, Acumen is a very real player in the global club scene. He runs his own Time Has Changed label and as a live performer cooks up intoxicating house sound tracks that are made on the fly and showcases his wide musical taste. Things kick off with the mid tempo title track featuring Lopazz. It is a an electric cut with great synths and rubbery drums sucking you right in. From there things get deep and moody on Lea, whilst Suddenly is more upbeat and dance floor aligned with its slick claps and emotive vocal cries. Quota again drops into deep and warm house territory with darkened drums, sombre pads and shiny synths all making for a spooky sound world. Already Gone shows a love for rolling main room house with its whirring cords and squelchy drums, then the angelic, emotive Interlude For Sophie makes a thoughtful section of the album that is pregnant with sadness. Hot talent Bekoto makes an appearance on Guest House, which is a colourful, trippy and synth heavy tech cut that will send fists skyward on the dance floor, Just An Illusion is a prickly roller with hot chord stabs and magic melodies and as well as the upright jack of Tatoune, Dave Seaman then guests on Ines, a monstrous track that has robust drums and fat synths all working you into a lather. Lush outro Miloune’ then brings you back down to earth with a sci-fi feel and rounds out what is a truly journeying album.