Roots Manuva
Alternately Deep
(Banana Klan/Big Dada)
On Alternately Deep Brit rapper Roots Manuva offers remixes of tracks from his excellent 2005 release Awfully Deep. He amazes the listener with his ability to squeeze such newness out of pre-existing tracks. The single off the original record, “Colossal Insight,” sounds vastly different here, going from stoned-soul to jittery, synaptic, snare-driven jam. It’s pretty damn cool. The standout track on Alternately Deep, though, has to be “Nobody’s Dancing.” The synth-based melody throws back to the ’80s and the MC sings the chorus “nobody’s dancing like they used to dance.” “Nobody’s Dancing” is a great paean to the past from a pioneer in the present.
—Sean Flinn
This article appears in Dec 6-12, 2007.
