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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.