Album Review: Jeremy Ellis - Lotus Blooms (Ubiquity)

Writer: Sarah Marshall

The term 'one man band' fits Jeremy Ellis (aka Ayro) like a made-to-measure glove. Armed with only an MPC, several vintage keyboards and his own soul-laden vocals, the Detroit native composed his impressive 2002 debut ElectronicLoveFunk and landed remix work from the likes of Carl Craig, Alton Miller, Recloose and John Beltran.

His sophomore album Lotus Blooms on Ubiquity continues in much the same experimental and eclectic vein. Ellis initially intended the album to be a marriage of Detroit soul and South American sounds. He spent a three month stint in Puerto Rico studying traditional Bomba and Plena rhythms, only to have his computers (and recordings) stolen on the way home. But being perennially resourceful, he set about recreating the album in a Detroit based environment relying on musical knowledge gained during his travels. The result is less a Detroit take on Latin music, and more an insight into Ellis' wide reaching musical interests.

The South American sound is clearly evident in Cortano A Elena (originally a traditional Puerto Rican song) and Bombakiss, but elsewhere Ellis jumps between broken beat, cosmic funk, Detroit soul and even classical styles. His approach is more akin to a classical symphony, with the sprawling ten minute epic Callelunakarma broken down into four movements.

That said, tracks such as I Believe and Lotus Blooms are grounded in a more soulful groove and 86 (verbs) is a Co-op classic waiting to happen. At times his ambitions collapse into a confusing mish-mash of sounds and it is hard to ascertain a consistent groove. But Ellis does boast an irrepressible energy that is difficult to resist. A curious character and genre-hopping maverick; let Jeremy Ellis do his thing.

RELATED LINKS:
Ubiquity Records - label home to Jeremy Ellis

Buy Lotus Blooms at Amazon UK (CD) | US (CD)



PUBLISHED: 26 January 2005

RELEASE DATE: 22 February 2005 (UK / US).

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