Entering Femi's debut EP, Sweet Water Soul, is like getting into a warm, sensual pool of sounds and vibes. Sometimes experimantal but never irritating, a smooth candlelight sensation, romantic and relaxing. Combine these vibes with Femi's jazzy, gracious vocals and the result is a treasure of original songs equally danceable and reverent. Title track, Sweet Water opens it up as a passionate poetic track backed by percussion, flute and Femi's crystal clear voice. Imported serves as a real highlight, a melancholic, dreamy cut, introduced with some beautiful guitar work and containing a great, addictive baseline and some awesome flute 'soloing'. The mood here even reminds me a bit of one of my all time favourite female vocalists Sade ... sensual, downtempo grooves, composed with different sound elements that fit together perfectly. Like a jigsaw, Imported fluently rolls over in Crush. More feel good vibes, perfect for a relaxing evening after a hard days work. A glass of the bubbly, candles and your baby by your side ... The ideal combination with Femi taking care of the background sounds. Mostly Femi's music is described as neo-soul / neo-funk, but Sweet Water Soul goes much deeper. Tatters of raggae and latin in If I Knew and cool jazz (evolving into soothing soul) in I want You. What we have here is a superb compilation of styles and sounds, brilliantly glued together into some fantastic, breezy music. Poetic, sexy and a perfect CD to dream away, leaving all troubles behind and letting them flow away in the sweet water of Femi's soul. And with the first leaves colouring this fall, I'll be listening a lot during those rainy, dark evenings. Certainly recommended.

A Teach review

Femi Linxxx

> Femi Official Website
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