PRESENCE
All Systems Gone
Pagan
Many deep house fans will already know the music of the Nottingham based Charles Webster. He has contributed to the world of house music under a number of different constellations. As Sine, Symetrix, Love From San Francisco, Low Rise and Furry Freaks has he been making quality grooves for years. Webster has explored a number of different styles, moods and tempos and he has proved himself to be one of the most talented underground producers in the United Kingdom. On his debut full length CD All Systems Gone Webster has managed to explore his musical vision to its fullest.
The singles from this album Better Days and Sense Of Danger has been low key and aimed more for the headset than at the dance floor. When those tracks are heard in an album context they make a lot more sense. Presence's music should obviously not be compared with house music or dance music at all.
With the contribution from three great vocalists, Shara Nelson and Sara Jay of Massive Attack and the soaring falsetto of Steve Edwards, the music spans from shimmering contemplation to digital funk. On the bittersweet Future Love Steve Edwards sings about lost love and yet he is hoping for a new and better love in the future. The catchy Matter Of Fact featuring Shara Nelson on vocals is splendid and the downtempo Keeping Count justify purchase. The beautiful and haunting Been 2 Long comes close to the edge.
The last track on the album is a cover version of the Bodeans fateful Far Far Away From My Heart it is an almost pathetic ballad, where cigarettes and booze are the solution to all problems. "I am feeling more and more like less and less" sings Sara Jay with a fragile voice - and it is exactly in the difference between hope and despair that the greatness of this album is created.
All Systems Gone does not take off from Chicago's or South London's house clubs, but rather from where the moment when last track on Everything But The Girls album Walking Wounded ended. The music is like a lonely cab ride when it is raining both in the soul and outside, when you still can smell the perfume of the lost love on your skin.