Jessica 6 - See The Light

Born and raised in Brooklyn, N.Y, Nomi Ruiz has been steadily building up her career as a singer for a number of years. In 2005 she released her solo debut album ‘Lost In Lust’ through her own independent label Park Side Records, after which she was able to tour with artists like Debbie Harry and CocoRosie. In 2008 she finally rose to prominence when she featured on Andrew Butler’s nu-disco collective and hodgepodge of sexualities Hercules and Love Affair alongside Kim-Ann Foxman and Antony Hegarty. There she met with bassist Andrew Raposo and keyboardist Morgan Wiley, who were also part of the Hercules live show, and the trio hit it of musically. Thus Jessica 6 was conceived. So when Butler started working on his follow-up album with Hercules, Ruiz seized the opportunity to further pursue her newly founded solo-project. The name stems from the eponymous fictional character in the 1967 novel ‘Logan’s Run’, in which one individual attempts to break free from a society in which people are systematically terminated upon reaching the age of 30.

Truthfully speaking, my main concern was that Jessica 6 could end up revolving more around front woman Nomi Ruiz, completely overshadowing the musical side of the project – which now obviously lacked Andrew Butler’s button magic. However, See The Light is not the overly eccentric, queer-disco extravaganza is could have turned into, nor does it prove that Ruiz’ assets as an artist were primarily accommodated to her by the people she worked with. Quite contrarily, See The Light is a pretty interesting mash-up of both Ruiz’ earlier, hip-hop beginnings and the hip nu-disco sounds of Hercules and Love Affair – thanks to Raposo and Wiley – topped with some nineties eurohouse and a mild portion of camp. Opener ‘White Horse’ instantly sets the mood: cleverly composed club dance and sleek, subtle vocals seek to evoke the New York club scene and succeed fairly well at doing so. Music about breaking taboos and the irreligious mixed with sweet romances and high-camp, Raposo once described their musical sense of direction, and that’s pretty much what they’re achieving.

Despite obviously not disposing of the greatest vocal range, Ruiz’ tone of voice nonetheless forms the perfect addition to Raposo’s dark beats. That said the dark-haired diva is the incontrovertible star of the album, epitomizing the dark yet sexy sound Jessica 6 aspires to. With her sensual, androgynous vocals, seductive allure and flamboyant stage presence she lifts the whole to a new. More often than not, Ruiz and co strike just the wright tone musically, not in the least with their first release, ‘Fun Girl’. But the undisputed highlight of See The Light has got to be without any doubt the sublime nu-disco track ‘Prisoner of Love’, reminiscent to Hercules and Love Affair 1.0 ánd featuring their sweet-voiced, former Hercules-colleague Antony Hegarty. The club like bass beat and melancholic synth complement one another seamlessly, but it’s the track’s vocals that really strengthens the emotional intensity. Hegarty and Ruiz evinced their vocal complementarity on ‘You Belong’ and this follow up under a new constellation.

Interesting to see, is the variety of styles jammed onto See The Light. With the sleek, melancholic nu-disco ballad ‘Good To Go’ and the extremely stripped down ‘Not Anymore’ the trio proves its capability to strike a chord emotionally, without having to overcharge the songs. Life is not always fun and games, and that side of the N.Y. city nightlife also finds its place here. After the Hercules-tour Ruiz returned to New York to pick up where she left off with her solo career, but ended up ‘getting lost in indulgence, partying, falling in love, lusting, being sleazy and depressed, that whole kind of cycle’, as she recalled in an interview with V Magazine. The result was an album in part reflected that, ‘kind of like a diary’. It’s precisely that nuanced, autobiographical layer that makes this so much more than your typical run of the mill Brooklyn-based hipster project. See The Light not only captures the NYC club scene brilliantly, it also reflects a much more personal story within that story.  Whether it’s the glitzy nineties eurohouse of ‘Freak The Night’, the campy club gems ‘In The Heat’ or ‘U Motion’ or the more introspective tracks like ‘Prisoner of Love’, they all help formulate a broader picture. On

Outro ‘Six’ perhaps forms the most intriguing two minutes of the whole album and makes you wonder what See The Light could have sounded like had that slightly more experimental path been explored a little more. But that feels like nitpicking, since as a whole Jessica 6 manages to deliver something fresh, which is both club friendly and entertaining, while still staying true to their original vision. And meanwhile, Nomi Ruiz is on the way of becoming one of music’s iconic figures, even if only a small number of people are aware of it.

Tracklist

1. White Horse

2. See The Light

3. Prisoner Of Love (ft. Antony)

4. In The Heat

5. Jessica Jessica

6. Freak The Night

7. Good To Go

8. Fun Girl

9. Not Anymore

10. Blessed Mother

11. U Motion

12. Stars In Your Eyes

13. Six

Hercules and Love Affair - Blue Songs

Tagline: ‘But my house, is in order’

To say that Hercules and Love Affair is a diverse group of people seems somewhat of an understatement. The musical project centered around New York-based Dj Andrew Butler and supplemented by an array of guest artists and musicians, rose to prominence in 2008 with their eponymous debut album, a highly danceable nu-disco triumph, but is probably most known for the terrific first single ‘Blind’ featuring Antony Hegarty. Apart from Hegarty it was Kim-Ann Foxman and the ever flamboyant Nomi Ruiz who provided vocals to Butler’s disco beats. But that was then and this is now. In 2011 Antony is no longer supporting – although his part in 2008 was already limited to the actual record, as he didn’t tour with the band. And Nomi Ruiz is currently working on her debut with Jessica 6 alongside Andrew Raposo and Morgan Wiley, (who she met on tour with Hercules and Love Affair. That makes Butler and co’s sophomore album an unpredictable one, if nothing else. Question is whether they'll be able to repeat the exuberance of their first. Lead single 'My House' already suggested the best.


Unfortunately the rest of the album can't always maintain the same level. 'Blue Songs' takes of strong, with the insanely irrestistible disco track 'Painted Eyes'. 'My House' then really gets the party started. The song is carried by one of their trademark minimal disco beat and even though it starts of seemingly muted, it will have you at least tapping along to it by the end. Guest singer Shaun wright's deep, somewhat androgenous voice seemlessly complements the music the way Nomi's used to. In combination with the vibrant retrohouse beats and the ninety-esque video you get quite an opener. 'Answers Come In Dreams' completes the hat trick with its hypnotizing vocals and nu-disco arrangement. About halfway through the album the pace gets a bit lost with a trio of slow songs. 'Leonora' eventually blooms into a sensual satin chic disco ballad, with the help of siren Kim Ann Foxman. But the duo 'Boy Blue' and 'Blue Song' somewhat misses the mark. 'Boy Blue' takes too long to build up to the eery atmosphere of the last two minutes and title-track 'Blue Song' - ironically the title song - is just boring.


After that Butler - like any Dj who notices the dance floor is emptying - opens up a can of his funkiest trumpets on 'Falling', a genuine piece of disco vibes only sans the camp. The second half of the album doesn't always level up to the first tracks (with 'I Can't Wait' as bit of a low) but nevertheless still produces some fine dance tracks. 'Step up' thrives on a beat that reminds of Technotronic's 'Pump Up The Jam' and is provided with vocals by Kele who, for some reason, even when he's toning it down still has the most theatrical voice on the album. And by 'Visitor' Butler has everything back on track. Final track 'It's Alright' - with it's nostalgic atmosphere - forms the perfect cool-down after yet another extremely dancable Hercules and Love Affair record. Andy Butler hasn't lost his gift of filling a dance floor with his misleadingly minimal yet oh so energetic beats. Then again, with wiz kid Butler on the buttons you'll always end up with a pretty decent record. 'Blue Songs' might be one of those albums that has to grow on you - and it undoubtetly will. But it does occasionally lack in sounding as groundbreaking as its predecessor did - even though the infectious beats are often difficult to resist and despite the fact that the absence of Hegarty and Ruiz has been flawlessly filled. Maybe that's just because their debut was so strong, maybe Hercules and Love affair just lost some of its form.


Tracklist

1. Painted Eyes
2. My House

3. Answers Come In Dreams

4. Leonora

5. Boy Blue

6. Bleu Song

7. Falling

8. I Can’t Wait

9. Step Up

10. Visitor

11. It’s Alright