Andy Vaz%u2019s Straight Vacationing, his first full-length artist album, since the 2006 release of Repetitive Moments Last Forever..., registers as less a straight-up collection of dance-floor burners and more of a variety pack that mixes club tracks and full-fledged house songs. Listeners hungry for just ordinary 4/4 throw-downs will not entirely get their share of those, but they%u2019ll also get a whole lot more on this dynamic and well-rounded set of eight album tracks and that is exploring House Music not just as a simple one way street, but give you a very personal view of the music we call House. Straight Vacationing dives into the genre in all it%u2019s rich variety: From deep melodic, early Chicago influenced Acid House, Jacking-Jedi Mind Tricks to Disco-type grooves and last but not least excursions into Bizzaro World, with a vaz typical almost psychedelic experimental-edged Sound, it%u2019s all there.
The album perks up the moment the first track, %u201CDetroit In Me,%u201D appears and when its acidy bass line percolates so determinedly alongside a female vocal motif (%u201CI just need to put a little Detroit in Me), leaving little doubt as to the style in question, but Vaz polishes the track%u2019s Detroit surfaces to a mirror-like sheen. A little bit similar to what Maceo Parker might sound like soloing over a funky Detroit-styled base, while the played saxophone spreads his creamy playing all over %u201CStubnitz%u201D and in so doing bolsters the album%u2019s already soulful character. The album%u2019s poppiest moment arrives in %u201CJust Another Round,%u201D whose hooks Vaz powers with a lead bass line and sweetens with a chirping female vocal. The funky-as-hell bass playing and the music%u2019s cold sweat, not to mention the honk of the sax, might remind listeners of a certain age of the J.B.%u2019s, James Brown%u2019s %u201870s band. On the experimental tip there%u2019s %u201CFukuoka Liquid,%u201D a bubbly, acid-techno shape-shifter featuring a hammering groove overlaid with synth smears, and %u201CWorlds Collide,%u201D an exercise in jacking acid-house %u2013 old school all the way. The Album features occasional guest players contributing to the house-driven sun-showers of for example %u201CThe Other Place%u201D to a, well, whole other place %u2013 So what are you waiting for? Meet us there!
As a little Bonus, the Album offers free additional digital remixes from the Yore all-stars such as: Patrice Scott, Rick Wade, Alton Miller, Memory Foundation, Ibex, Kez YM and Orlando B.