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Despite iTunes and P2P sharing, records remain an amalgam of sensory perceptions for me. The crackling cellophane between my fingers and the expectations an intriguing cover implies. Perhaps that’s why I snatch up every CTI release I come across. Visual artist Nathan Jälani Taylor’s cover art for Play With The Changes instantly drew me in with its primal simplicity. The Rorschach ink blots boiling into the heavens like an apocalyptic tar pit. It is a perfect visual representation of 4Hero’s sound. Their progressive interpretations extrapolated from classic sounds the way archeologists piece together fossilized remains from the pit’s depths in order to push science forward. Present here are traces of 4Hero’s jungle beginnings and requisite diva vocal cuts, but with heavier soul leanings.

Since the turn of the millennium, duo Dego and Marc Mac have experimented more with the mellow sounds of soul and hip-hop, including collaborations with Terry Callier and Jill Scott on their last record, Creating Patterns.  When I say soul don’t think Otis, think Minnie Ripperton.  Had she been born thirty years later, Minnie and Charles Stepney could have easily cut many of these tracks on a Rotary Connection album. The subtlety of the arrangements slips by like feathered clouds in the stratosphere, and vocalists drop into the record almost as numerously as the rain.  Among the enormous talent pool here are MTV darling Jody Watley and one of every crate diggers favorite producers, Larry Mizell.

Most of these performances enhance the record.  Darien Brockington croons beautifully on “Give In,” which Phonte of Little Brother also delivers a verse on.  Ursula Rucker’s half-sung poetry on “The Awakening” perfectly accents the forward marching beat.  But the cover of Stevie Wonder’s “Superwoman” sounds close enough to the original that they could have just slipped in eight minutes from Music Of My Mind as tribute.

Despite the torrent of guests, 4Hero’s immaculate production streams beautifully from mountain source to delta.  This is a gorgeous album with a mood perfectly suited for it’s early spring release.  As warmth creeps northbound from the equator and Earth’s cycles begin anew, Carina Andersson sings, “Open your eyes to the morning of your life.”

- Brian Hull
www.okayplayer.com