Hailing from Rüsselsheim, Germany, perhaps Matthias Vogt's knowledge of American geography is a little bit off. That's one way to explain this debut release as
Motorcitysoul, an album of over-reaching house, nu-jazz, and R&B that resembles little of the music to come out of Detroit. Granted, "Take a Look Around" attempts to mimic the intricate hi-hats so often associated with classic Detroit techno, but Vogt completely misses the advance programming so long ago mastered by
Derrick May. In fact, the whole of the album misses the mark, emulating the true organic styles of house and broken beat, but without any of the rhythmic understanding that makes such rudimentary percussion-based music so effective. At its most insulting, Vogt cops a weak
Roy Ayers vibe method on "Me, on GPR." Like so many skilled musicians who get bitten by the dance music bug, Vogt doesn't know when to quit, packing each cut with an aggravating amount of sounds and samples, failing to adhere to the class adage that less is more. Vogt needs to do a lot more clubbing if he wishes to truly begin to get how this music is supposed to work. And he'd best consider a less presumptuous moniker the next time around. ~ Joshua Glazer