To All Things What They Need

A Guy Called Gerald
To All Things What They Need
!K7
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Mancunian dance trailblazer loses his sparkle.
Although a musical pioneer in his own right, Gerald Simpson has spent the last
16 years trying to shake the curse of Voodoo Ray, the ubiquitous club anthem
that defined dance culture in the late '80s. This has meant sonic explorations
into virtually every stratum of dance music – house, techno, jungle and
drum'n'bass – in a desperate bid to show he's no one-trick pony. This pick'n'mix
approach extends to Simpson's latest effort, a not wholly successful experiment
that files ambient noodles (American Cars) alongside breakbeat poetry
(Millennium Sanhedrin) and minimal techno (First Try). Perhaps he should go back
to conjuring some of that old Voodoo magic.
SIMON McEWEN
Rip It! First Try