RICK FOUCHE
Master Of Time (Dance Of A Lifetime)
New Brunswick, United States
Soul music meets new pop. A trend that is in its infancy but already massive albums are breaking out of this space. The latest album from Rick Fouche, ‘Master Of Time (Dance of a lifetime),’ is one of these breakout albums. The blending of emotionally charged vocals with classic pop arrangements as well as funk, soul and jazz frills creates a soundstage that we are yet to get tired of. ‘Master Of Time (Dance of a lifetime)’ is an album that commands you listen to its daunting melodies. It's bafflingly complex and simple all at once; when you dive in head first trying to listen to each and every instrument, each rhythm section, each melody — it's confounding. But when you step back, let the flow of the song wash over you and let go, the hook comes into view. It's the voice, it’s the chorus and it's the textures of soul, from brass to strings, synths to sub-bass. Rick Fouche welcomes you to revel in the colourful and wonderful world he has created.
Describing the sounds found on this album is easy, comparing them to other artists is nigh on impossible. To my ear there simply isn’t anyone doing what Rick Fouche is doing. From the upbeat jazz-funk of ‘Wont Compromise;’ with its blaring horns in the front and speeding bass in the back; to the modern dark pop vibe of ‘Dalt Wisney,’ its sub-bass and sample vocals creating a cyclic melody that ropes you into the dance floor and it's entirely inescapable. Variety wins the day on ‘Master Of Time (Dance of a lifetime)’ and it wins it for good reason. Rick Fouche has already distilled a sound for himself, out of pop, funk, jazz and soul. It works to bring emotion to the forefront of the tracks that he creates. With vocals that slide in and out of the rhythm, smooth and flirtatious, breaking out in full power to deliver messages of love, wisdom, passion and loss.
‘With You’ caught me in the chest. Its bass and rhythms are something special when played against the arpeggiated synth that spans the whole track. It's a sound that when you first hear it you think, this has to be an instrumental there’s no way someone can sing over that! But Rick Fouche does and he makes it work. The instrumental builds and layers into a simmering concoction of sound as the vocals find their place amongst the bubbles. It’s a sound so simple in the grand scheme of things, but its construction is masterful.
I would compare ‘Master Of Time’ to a puzzle box. What is it, as you spy it on the table? A box, a wooden box. Nothing more … Then it opens in a fascinating way, it has layers to it. There are more compartments than you know what to do with and before you know it — that little wooden box has become your house, your workplace, your whole world. The album's sound expands and yet remains, deceptively simple. A masterwork in a genre all its own