Moojaa – The First Man of Razzamatazz

Written by J Puddy Monday, 08 December 2008 21:25

2.5

The Vitals:

Label: Hype Muzik
Genre: Progressive House
Number of Tracks: 3

J Puddy's Take:

Bearing in mind that "The First Man of Razzamatazz" is the debut EP of Moojaa (aka, John-Lee Fenton), it's a fairly enjoyable recording. Expect progressive house influenced by minimal and electronic, acoustically reminiscent of Jonathan Lisle and other Bedrock artists.

The EP consists of three tracks: "Splash Back", "Yes Mun", and "Cartouche". "Splash Back" features the biggest sound, with a predominant electronic arrangement combined with an almost prog trance lead synth line. "Yes Mun" focuses on a low-end synth with some dirty sounding frills. It's pretty consistent throughout and doesn't feature the highs and lows of "Splash Back". "Cartouche" falls somewhere in between the other two, dropping the prog trance lead of "Splash Back" and stepping up the consistency of "Yes Mun" into a much thicker sound and a driving groove, with more instruments.

"Splash Back", while the biggest track, is a strange mix of "that's hot" and "ouch, that’' awkward". It's a track that I want to like, but I feel held back from totally digging it by its odd arrangement and sometimes painful leveling. The drum levels are particularly odd, and the mix of the instrumentation is at times jarring. I dig the piano-like synth that gets introduced early on, but right when that's beginning to build some momentum, it drops away and the main trancy melody is introduced. The progression comes across off rushed, to me, and could do with some refining. I could spin this, but it would benefit from a remix and maybe should have stayed in the studio a week longer to reach its potential.

"Yes Mun" and "Cartouche" are more consistent in their arrangement and leveling and don't make me grimace like some moments in "Splash Back", though their high points are not quite as high. "Cartouche" is the livelier of the two, and I would certainly spin it. Both tracks feature a simple structure and are somewhat predictable, but not in a negative sense. I would call them safe; nothing unexpected is going to happen, so dropping either in a set is no problem, but they're not floor-fillers. They both feature enjoyable, groovy bass lines, with consistent (though somewhat low) energy throughout.

Overall, it's fairly enjoyable progressive house for the slightly-minimal/chill minded. I could spin these tracks and generally enjoy the music, but there are a few weak spots. It's a bit forgettable even after numerous listenings, but it is decent music and certainly a good first EP. I'd be interested to hear what Moojaa brings out next.