Respect Is Burning Presents Respect to DJ Deep

Released

Once upon a time, this 2001 mix CD struck me as narrow—a mining of R&B and gospel-derived house that didn’t bust out of its shell enough. Two decades on, that seam is one of the sonic places I want to live. The Parisian DJ Cyril Etienne, aka DJ Deep, made a testament here, a definitive snapshot of just what his name means to house heads. Logic’s “The Warning,” a Roger Sanchez co-production from 1990, still sounds fresh, enveloping spare Rhodes string arpeggios and fluid organ riffs in its outer-space swing. The pumping, hi-hat-heavy drums and buoyant bass activity of Kimra Lovelace’s “Misery” shift the set’s relaxed groove into full gear. The whole thing is languid and compelling, especially if you love Afro-Latin percussion and jazzy piano runs.

Michaelangelo Matos