BURTON L.
Spy Life (Omega Point)
Reviewed by DJ Johnson

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"Spy Life" can be taken two ways, either as "living the spy life" or "as I spy life." Burton L. comments on what he sees and experiences, from love to beauty to fear. Though this is mostly sample 'n' synth, downtempo, soulful DJ music, it has a warmth rarely associated with that kind of thing. Even when Burton gets kinky, such as using a twisted, modulated backing vocal sample over and over in such a way that it becomes the hook of a song, he manages to build the track in such a way that it doesn't annoy the listener or distract from the emotion of the song. He brings in living, breathing trumpet and guitar players for a few tracks, and they build a perfect bridge between the sampled music and Burton L.'s vocals, pulling everything together. This guy is two, maybe three cuts above the average DJ making records today, and discerning downtempo fans owe it to themselves to check him out.

© 2004 - DJ Johnson