circle research - who?

Sunday morning is always a good time to listen to new music. Since the record distributor i used to work for has been having financial woes, I've had a hard time looking at the remnant items left over in my home/office from the three years of slog i devoted to that position. But today, I decided to reclaim my post as a bona-fide music fan - especially after a friend who until June was a cool indie record label owner, called me last night and had a chat. The subject of our conversation was mainly about jobs, and the lifting of the weight off our shoulders. This 'weight' was mainly the need to be in the crowd, the special ones who think that the music industry is the only thing you need to care about. Now I've always been a bit of a renegade in this respect - I am as passionate about travel, film, abstract art and photography as I am about learning about music. In general, culture fuels my fire so finding out that we were friends beyond music was refreshing. We both enjoy the outdoors, we discussed the merits of applying to the new posting at the Ontario Lottery and Gaming (morally we both couldn't do it) and we are both positive about the horizon - working some consulting contracts to keep our lives and minds going.

So, in light of this tummy-warming convo from last night, I woke up this morning, ate some grapefruit, and downed a steaming mug of coffee while listening to Circle Research's Who? disc that was supposed to be released in Canada by the distribution company I used to work for. Circle Research are two Toronto based DJ producers and this disc is 36 tracks and 38 minutes long. There's some humour to the top half of the record, since it's very post modern in it's approach: some tracks kick off with a bran-van style telephone conversation about 'fundraising' for Circle Research, there's a whole lot of mentions about the thematic title who? and obvious knowledge of the decline or mega-shifts in today's music industry. Once you're over that and have decided whether this takes away from the disc or not however, the music is perfect for an easy sunday morning. They are following the classic throwback trail, picking up some of the best in soul and hip hop and mixing it up.

Now here's the best part about this record, it's all good. There's soul, disco, beats and an obvious love of life. All of these songs are songs that if you lived through the 90's and had any interest in music, you're going to think that you know them. The production is crisp, fresh, and there's a lot of bounce, step in the easy going approach to the record. It's definitely a gem, and I'm gonna start spreading the word.

Oh, and you'll like them even more once you watch this video. They play in Toronto a lot, so if you are around town, go and find 'em.