RA Review: Viola Klein - Exchange

Cologne's Viola Klein has long been interested in exchange. One of her past singles was an "appreciation" of a church in New York, cutting thoughtful house music with a recorded sermon. The other centred on the "presence" of two other artists, among them Detroit producer Whodat. Detroit often features in Klein's exchanges. The film editor, DJ and writer has flown some of the city's key house DJs to Germany for her Bring Your Ass party, and presented a 2012 art exhibition in Berlin called New Michigan. This release, for Belgium's ever-adventurous Meakusma label, connects the city with another node in Klein's global network. She works as a facilitator, combining Whodat's beats—demurely soulful, deepest-of-deep house—with the Senegalese Family Diop, practitioners of traditional Sabar drumming. The exchange is two-way on the A-side, where head-nodding drum loops are interwoven with live percussion that tugs and nudges loosely at the groove. The feeling of flux isn't entirely comfortable, because of a tense high pedal-note, but jazzy chords in the second half soften the mood. They might be taking their cues from Senegalese writer Ndongo Samba Sylla, who sprinkles in a few optimistic statements. ("History is full of potential, it's full of avenues. And we have the capability to choose and to build the avenue we find desirable to take.") On the B-side, Whodat's beatmaking steals the show. Her delicate chord-bassline interplay and wafts of pensive piano make for a Detroit house groover of rare vintage. The serenity is emphasised by Kim Sherobbi, an educator at a Detroit school, instructing us to "have an open mind, knowing that things change all the time." Sure enough, after seven minutes, they do: that gentle beat is picked up by the Family Diop and taken for a leisurely walk.

https://ra.co/reviews/20444