Album Review: Redinho - Redinho

The UK electronic dance music scene is just divine this fall. I know, I know, you can pretty much say that year round any year and it would be at least partially true, but this is especially true right now. Just last month, we got a full length masterpiece by up-and-coming Glasgow pioneer Rustie. Then next week, Hudson Mohawke drops his Chimes EP following the absolutely excellent single of the same name. But this week, we get an offbeat median between the two in the form of Redinho. The London based R&B producer is pushing all kinds of boundaries with his self-titled LP, out this week on Numbers. Part R&B, part bass, part house, part throwback funk, and all kinds of London brilliance, Redinho is a spectacle of a debut LP and gives a worthy introduction to this bright new character on the London dance scene. Proceed with caution: Redinho will draw you in one vocoder line at a time until the funk takes over completely.

Before the Numbers LP, we saw Redinho dabble a couple other places. He's dropped a couple EPs on Numbers over the years, but spent the better part of the last three years carefully assembling the LP to be as perfect a full-length statement as possible. Otherwise, we've seen Redinho pop up two other places: on Rustie's Green Language LP lending vocals to the sultry "Lost" and on bay area G-funk revivalist 100s' delightfully raunchy "10 Freaky Hoes". On both, we get to hear Redinho's talk-box mastery put on full display, but not an ounce of his immersive production prowess is present on either track. That's where Redinho fills in the gaps for us. In fact, while the vocal manipulation is present on much of the album, neither of album's lead singles lean on it extravagantly. "Playing With Fire" is a sultry, bass heavy R&B track, that balances early James Blake vibes with west coast funk in marvelous ways. The talk-boxing adds layering, but it's not the focal point, as Redinho let's his actual voice do most of the seduction. Meanwhile, "Searching" barely features talk-box effect at all, leaning more towards a driving bass vibe that we might hear from Rustie, HudMo, or Redinho's other geographical counterparts. The balance of driving bass and snare pound with the liquid magic of the vibrato synth is just marvelous here - Redinho's mixture of sounds is entirely his own, while still finding himself fitting right into the heat of the scene.

Of course, there are plenty of moments throughout the record where Redinho lets the funk off the leash completely. "Jacuzzi" is three minutes of hot tubbing on the late night, featuring lyrics like "Bubbles in the bath, leave your troubles in the past". "Sharp Shooter" is a flirtatious pop masterpiece, with more attitude than your stereo can handle. But "Get You Off My Mind" is the real throwback winner, with a wicked synth lead and some guest vocals from Brendan Reilly to bring the summer pop funk heat up to a sizzle. Then elsewhere, Redinho drops the funk entirely. "Shem" is a low profile house banger, while "With or Without You" is subtle disco to the end, and "Going Nowhere" mixes INXS "Need You Tonight" drums with 90s R&B to complete the cornucopia of dance magic herein.

But Redinho saves one more surprise for the climactic ending, with "Stay Together" branching deeper into bass and garage than any other track on the record. While the talk-box and lead synthesizers keep things at a light melancholy, the underlying groove is both aggressive and red hot. Here, we are reminded even after 14 tracks of chameleon funkadelic mystery that there are few sounds Redinho can't tackle. Yet somehow, mixing all of them together on one 15 track 47 minute album totally works. Redinho is a man for all kinds, but at the same time, exactly the character the UK dance scene could use to shake things up a bit.

Redinho's self-titled debut is mysterious piece of dance magic, and it's out this week on Numbers! Grab it at your local record store on CD or vinyl! To listen to more Redinho, head to Dazed to stream the record in full. Redinho has no US dates currently posted, but keep your eyes on his Facebook for any and all dates in the future.