It’s a Rotterdam thing! City-based talent Beau Zwart delivers the first release of Fluid Funk, the newborn label from the harbour town. Fresh-off an inaugural release on INI Movements that hit the streets a few weeks ago, Beau steps in with his debut 12” called « Beyond Two Souls », a smooth solar-powered six-track platter featuring Dutch duo Fouk on remix duty.
Along with its sister imprint Fluid Electronics (dedicated to all things more muscularly 4×4 oriented), Fluid Funk offers a platform of choice for creators and lovers of soulful house, hip-hop, jazz, funk, disco & more. The goal of the label is to bring a community of like-minded people together, cleared from the complexities that sometimes hamper the good course of the label x artist relationship.
Expect lavishly orchestrated cascades of ankle-twisting breaks, prismatic synthwork and summer-flavoured melodies to wrap your ears around as your feet and body give in to the power of that funky bass. Brewing elements of fuzzy pop, pixelated soul and tropicalised rhythms, Beau Zwart takes us on a wildly enjoyable ride on the title track, featuring Sykes on the the vocals. Interlaced with sugary Rhodes stabs and 8-bit harmonics ‘a la’ Floating Points, Sykes’ warm vox intonations shows us the way into a pulsating heart of wonky, pop-infused boogie. Expanding to further out-there, Dutch duo Fouk does what it’s known for: warm modern funk with a house twist that’ll make an impact in the clubs (when the’ll reopen – sigh).
Pulling out the weirdo harmonics and left-of-centre jazz aerobatics, « Ixodus » lets its free-spirited sense of playfulness take over completely. Flip sides and « Marble Book » unbolts the spacious pads and whirling riffs as a sub-bass and gut-churning kicks beat time onto further estranged dimensions.
A slightly more muscular but thoroughly sensuous workout, our own favorite « Bustin Out » fuses classical two-step-indebted breaks with lascivious P-Funk tropes into one compelling club heater. The EP sluggishly closes with « Illustrate My Way », sending us into orbit for good with its slowed-down romanticism and otherworldly piano fantasy.
With this « Beyond Two Souls » EP, Beau Zwart and Fluid Funk offer us a rich, emotional release. We can’t wait to hear more from both of them! The EP is now available on Juno Records.