Andrés

Released

Humberto Hernandez aka Andrés’ 2003 debut on Kenny Dixon Jr.’s Mahogani Music label is a semi-anthology of his musical career to date since his ’97 debut (on Dixon’s other label KDJ), and with KDJ getting a production credit too there’s plenty of his distinctive fuzzy, hazy, atmospheric production aesthetic. It’s Detroit deep house of the disco-derived, tripped out, crackling sample, gritty-yet-smooth, inviting-yet-aloof variety. Hernandez keeps the tracks really short; of the nine, three are under three minutes, five under four with only one creeping above five minutes, and this, together with the shifting, collage nature of the music creates the effect of listening to a radio station switching between Detroit’s musical past and future.

Harold Heath