Martin Dawson - Sunday Smoking

Martin Dawson
Sunday Smoking
MOODMUSIC RECORDS

Sunday Smoking is Martin Dawson's second album - his first under his real name - and is the 14th long player released by Berlin's Moodmusic Records. And it is superb. From the couch to the club, this record is a shining example of top shelf house music sourced straight from the soul and it serves as an enticing exhibition of Martin's skills and diversity as a producer.

Kicking things off with Blissful Ignorance, a deep loungey number with faint hints of IDM, Dawson's got you pleasantly anesthetised and prepped for a journey through all corners of quality house. The opening tracks soothe as much as they excite, gradually and organically progressing from sunny Sunday rooftop vibes through to the proper saturday night business end of the scale. Over the very generous 74 minutes of music on offer Dawson throws in some jamming tribal grooves (Morning Glory); classic deep house (complete with wandering piano solo) woven in flawlessly with warm techno flavours (Soft Synth); and some handy club tracks to keep DJs happy at work (Take It Down).

Track three, Is This Goodbye, is a big standout and digs into a more nostalgic realm, trading in some of the electrics for more natural instrumentation and throwing in some blanketing strings for good measure - it's a real thing of beauty. After a good portion of shoe shuffling the blissful finisher The Sleeping Dawn wraps things up perfectly, returning back to the couch-friendly mentality that the record starts off with. Whilst the latter half of the album admittedly doesn't really feel as inspired and exciting as the first, and I think a couple of the cuts might be better off released on a club 12" rather than as part of an album, the overall release really is a wonderful package. Absolutely worth a visit if you dig the soulful tip of electronic music!

Andy Webb

Tracklist: Martin Dawson - Sunday Smoking
01. Blissful Ignorance
02. Chariot
03. Is This Goodbye
04. Morning Glory
05. Soft Synth
06. Submerge
07. Sunday Smoking
08. Take It Down
09. The Return
10. The Sleeping Dawn