Analog Love

Recorded on the same mixing desk as Michael Jackson’s Thriller, the first album from French producer Dabeull is a collection of electro-funk. It references the smooth, shiny aesthetic of early-80s street soul — think Zapp, Shalamar, Loose Ends, and She’s Strange-era Cameo, as well as the super-slick production values of peak Japanese City Pop. Created with analogue keyboard sounds, plastic synth strings, creamy electric piano chords, squiggly chrome-edged G-funks and Bernie Worrell-esqe synth basslines that perfectly balance heft and squelch, Dabeull carves out a sumptuous sonic space that faithfully recalls the licks of 80s machine soul while benefiting from gorgeously fat and round 21st-century dance music production. Seven of the eight tracks feature vocal or instrumental collaborators, lifting the album above a collection of decent dance-floor jams into something with a little more depth and longevity. Super cool and with plenty of swagger, it’s an album that knows exactly what it is and does it with panache.