Flashbaxx - Something To Believe (Plusquam Chillout)

Six years after his highly acclaimed The Changing Tides EP, Flashbaxx returns with Something To Believe. In the album’s thirteen tracks the Aschaffenburg-based producer shows his impressive and versatile musical production skills gained over the years as a label manager, DJ, and studio producer licensing music for TV-commercials and motion pictures. Constantly taking on new roles came about from a dislike for stagnancy or doing thing same thing over and over, thus also explaining the wait for a new album - maintaining acclaim while continuing to make progress takes time.

The future downtempo classic “So Close To Midnight” opens Something To Believe with warm piano chords, jazzy rhodes, guitar licks, and laid back hip hop drums. This is followed by “Madison” which is a string and piano laden mid-tempo ride trough the sunrise of a beautiful summer day. Flashbaxx’s latest vocal discovery Tanja Proessler delivers some irresistibly soulful vocals on “Something To Believe.” This cut is a Rhodes-layered lounge affair with sexy wah-wah guitar, funky vintage bass, and grooving R’n’B beats. “Movin’ On” progresses smoothly with 909 samples, hand claps, and Moog fills before switching to a disco boogie with classic house piano. A bit old school but far away from being outdated, “Gold” is a true deep house joint with a squeeze of jazz. It’s flowing with spherical dub-delayed pads, muted guitar, Rhodes stabs, and a groovy synth bass line. Finally, the title “We Just Listen To It” may be a misnomer as this intoxicating Latin four-on-the-floor jam aims to set any dance floor ablaze. Flashbaxx is back … and he’ll make you a believer.

Greg Wilson - “Grooves!”
Graeme Park - “Absolutely superb. A real joy to listen to.”
Julius Papp - “I’m enjoying the refreshing, ‘chilled out’ vibe from moody deep house to the down-tempo jazz-inflected grooves. Diggin’ it!”
Saulty (Downtown Party Network) - “Beautiful! All tracks are special and it’s a flashback for me.”
Kid Loco - “Cool grooves.”
Chris Todd (Crazy P / Hot Toddy) - “This sounds sweet, particularly ‘Madison’ and ‘Movin’ On.’”
Andy Compton (The Rurals / Peng) - “Lovely music.”
Ant Plate (Rhythm Plate / YSE) - “Nice. Wouldn’t sound out of place on a Cafe Del Mar or Hotel Costes compilation.”
Robert Owens - “These are great tracks.”
Danny Massure (Spring Strut) - “This is a beautiful fusion of chill-out, jazz, bossa, and deep house.”
Husky (Random Soul) - “I love Flashbaxx’s music … always quality drums and melodies. Great stuff.”
Tim “Love” Lee (Tummy Touch) - “I love it.”
Tom Lown (Savoir Faire / Lost My Dog) - “This is a refreshing treat to receive … very nice stuff. Just need some sun to go with that!”
Sumsuch (Colour and Pitch) - “Simply fantastic music here … what a treat!”
Nick Holder - “Nice and deep!”
Quincy Jointz (Timewarp) - “I love the soulful and jazzy vibes. Reminds me on the golden age of nu-jazz. Wonderful music.”
Hippie Torrales - “This is the best ‘chill’ album of 2014 so far.”
Christos Kedras (Beat Philosophy / Kapa Music) - “The title track steals the show thanks to the vocal, but the funky riffs and the lazy grooves are awesome throughout.”
Vincent Kwok - “An excellent selection of tracks.”
Jeff Berger (Dope Den Management / Fr33dom People) - “Nice vibe … full of life and seaside beats that slowly work one back and forth into a gentle sway.”
David Bassin (Freefall Radio Show) - “Wow … some serious old school soul!”
Dr. Best (Headz / Limbo Rhythm) - “A superb release … really BIG!”
Aja Allsop (Ketch A Vibe Radio Show) - “An eclectic mix of mix magical tunes!”
Brandon (Properly Chilled Blog) - “I own a smattering of Flashbaxx tunes, so I was pretty sure this would be good … but ‘Madison’ …damn! Solid album.”

Available now from Juno Download and Beatport