GROOVE IS IN THE HOUSE
September 2003
SOULFUL IMPULSE -
GODIVA
A few months ago, I met with a bubbly young man who records under the
name Soulful Impulse for an in-depth chat about his dance productions
and ongoing studies in audio engineering. We talked about the scene in
Malta, the scene abroad, DJ stuff, some precious bits of gossip (of
course!), but most importantly, we talked about how songs like Return To
Disco, That Sound and The Moon Song were paving the way for the release
of his debut album.
His name is Randy Attard Trevisan – he is now a fully qualified audio
engineer - and Godiva – his debut album – is officially out! Well, it
has been for a couple of weeks already but it will be ‘properly’
launched at a special event around the end of this month – all details
are closely guarded so far, but I am told that if all goes to plan, it
will be, in the words of 80s disco trio Shalamar, a night to remember!
Released on Ovenready Records through EMI, Godiva – the name inspired by
Randy’s early DJ stints at the Godiva afterhours parties – features 14
tracks. Two of these are bonus remixes of The Moon Song, which proved
quite popular on the local airwaves a couple of months back. Of the
other 12 tracks, only four have been available previously, not counting
Forever Love, which has just been released as a promo track for the
album, as avid radio listeners will have undoubtedly noticed.
As with most of Randy’s productions, the accent on Godiva is brazenly
rooted in generic house music, loosening its reins occasionally to dish
out the more commercially inclined cuts, such as My Angel, Stars and
Forever Love. The rest of the album flits through different levels of
dance floor appeal and tempo, shedding most of the vocals along the way,
but cranking up the funky flavour instead. And there is no particular
sequence implied either, with the result that a warm-up number like
Steppin’ can nestle comfortably in between the hot grooves of The Moon
Song (definitely one of the best Soulful Impulse tracks to date) and the
chunky funk house of new track Let’s See. On other instances, such as So
Good and the reconstructed Again, Randy restrains the bpm’s, letting a
retro soul groove take over the tunes. It is this very balance between
melody and rhythm that gives Godiva its measured resonance, and
ultimately, its widespread appeal.
Meanwhile, Randy is busy with the promo commitments that go with the
job, namely radio airplay as well as his own programme on the brand new
station, A3 FM. Randy’s weekly show is being hosted in conjunction with
EMI Europe, bringing the major label ever closer to our islands. Other
promo engagements include a November trip to Western Australia, where
Randy will not only be promoting the record but also collaborating with
DJ Kreice and Ryan Papa, the latter recently voted the No.1 Aussie DJ.
Read our feature on Soulful Impulse
Recommended weblink: www.soulfulimpulse.com
