ILS

SOUL TRADER

(MARINE PARADE)
3LP/CD

(JULY 2002)

‘Soul Trader’ is the second Ils album and is this time hosted by Adam Freeland’s excellent Marine Parade label – expect clever beatlogy and break science.

This is the ace brand new album from the “producers favourite producer” Ils with ‘Soul Trader’, an album of twelve classic tracks that glides between stunning female vocals and soulful bluesy numbers to out and out dancefloor devastators/window shakers.

Ils (born Ilian Walker) started out on LTJ Bukem’s Good Looking label as Ils & Solo and Axis before upping the vibe and signing to Tipper’s Fuel Recordings imprint with the critically acclaimed ‘Idiots Behind The Wheel’ album, which, due to problems at the label didn’t ever get a proper release.

Then, Ils signed to Adam Freeland’s superb Marine Parade imprint and released the first single to be taken from this album the club smash and chart hit ‘Next Level’ (the music for an Orange TV advert) which was picked up by everybody from Steve Lamacq and Annie Nightingale to Seb Fontaine and Pete Tong.

Ils’ second album ‘Soul Trader’ is one of the best albums to have arisen from the beats scene in years. Far removed from any underground sub-genre, ‘Soul Trader’ is a great album of great songs that is already beginning to touch all sorts of heads worldwide. ‘Soul Trader’ also features his latest single ‘No Soul’, described by many as Moby-esque with its bluesy vibe and which came with remixes from buzz artists FC Kahuna, High Contrast and PMT that is set for another high chart entry and is already riding high in the “Cool Cuts”, “Buzz”, “Beats”, “Zzub” and “Capital” charts.

‘Soul Trader’ is set to be one of the most credible albums so far from the pot of breaks producers – Ils just might have made the first great breakbeat artist album although he is characteristically modest about this.