The Vitals

Label: Rubik Records
Genre: House, Industrial Dance, chill-out, Drum and Bass
No. Of Tracks: 5 (CD Single/EP)
How to obtain: www.aortalife.com

Factor Scores:

• Production Quality: 8
• Programming and Arrangement: 7.8
• Entertainment Quality: 7.9
• Total: 8.1 – Great

Summary

Aorta has been bouncing around the UK DJ lead worship scene now for about 3 years. This is their first major release and it is being backed by UK drum and bass guru’s Rubik Records. This single provides us with a nice 5 track multi-genre worship CD that has moments of pure joy and inspiration and a few moments of wanting. In some ways, Aorta sonically is what would happen if you crossed the World Wide Message Tribe (circa their Dance Planet days) with Prodigy or Psalmistry.

Factor Scores:

Production Quality: 8

Overall, this release has top notch mixing and mastering. It’s a very clean recording. If anything, the high-end might be a bit too crisp, but that never really hurts. The vocals for most of the tracks are very well done. The only track that stick out with some substandard quality is Touch Skin. In general, the mixing could have been better here. At times parts just seem to compete with each other. Beyond that though, the production on both the original and Bcee and Lomax mixes of Love, Hope, Future will make your jaw drop.

Programming and Arrangement: 7.8

I cannot say how good the production on Love, Hope, Future is. Both the original and remix stand out as models for programming and arrangement. The track simply rocks. The original is a very smooth house track. The remix is the tailored jazzy drum and bass sound Rubik Records has developed over the past year or so. Communiqué is another great house track with heavy Latin house influences. The rap on that track is delivered in a very staccato manner, but it works fairly well.

The weak spots of the EP are Glori-fi and Touch Skin. Glori-fi really isn’t that bad, but stylistically, it is not the sound I would expect to hear on an EP billed as house. The reason is simple, it’s industrial dance in the vein of Psalmistry or prodigy. Rap laden industrial/big beat breaks with heavy and dark synths. It’s harsh and overbearing. The kids will love it, but it’s a very harsh track to listen to immediately after the smooth house grooves of Love, Hope, Future.

Touch Skin as mentioned earlier could have been mixed better. Toward the end when the background vocals kick in, the track simply sounds muddy. My point regarding the programming and arrangement however has to do with the selection of the vocalist. The song could be have been very beautiful, but it lacks because the vocalist seems to be straining to hit the notes. It isn’t enough to completely ruin the track though because the vocals do fit for parts of the song, but not others. Working with a different vocalist on this track might have cleared up this issue.

Entertainment Quality: 7.9

There are probably four tracks here that will make the crowd go wild. Of course, that will depend on who is in the crowd. Glori-fi will be very popular among youth groups and even on the radio in the US. It is nowhere near as entertaining as the title track and its remix, but it would hold its own based on how similar tracks have done. There is no way that Love, Hope, Future and its remix completely steal the show and put the remaining three tracks to shame. Communiqué is just plain fun and should get a few spins as well in a more top 40 club setting.

Total: 8.1 – Great

Aorta is on the map with this release. Despite it’s low points, this is a solid release for anyone who is into house music. If you’re in to the jazzier end drum and bass, you should consider this release as well.

Dave’s Take:

Until I got this CD, I had not heard of Aorta. I was shocked to find that they have been very active in the UK DJ worship scene now for roughly three years. I was even more impressed when I heard the first track off this EP. My only real complaint is that the CD wasn’t simply three tracks: Love, Hope, Future, Communiqué and Love, Hope, Future (Bcee and Lomax Remix). This review would have been a solid 9 had that been the case.