Rheji Burrell Presents: NY House 'N Authority & The Utopia Project (DOUBLE FEATURE)

June 5, 2020 - Running Back

Rheji Burrell has been in the game a long time. Pioneering deep house in the early 1980s with his twin brother Ronald “Rhano” Burrel, the two found their sensibilities shaping the low-fi and patchwork aspects in their recording that would go on to define the scene. With twin releases from the NY House ‘N Authority and the Utopia Project projects, which could have been one long release but was broken up into two (for which there are reasons to be grateful), Burrell showcases what brought him to such influential stature. While a strong callback to music of the 80s era, the artist displays a clear evolution in his sound. 

As NY House ‘N Authority, Rheji Burrell presents Out of Body Experience. Loaded with understated funk and gentle harmonics, the project is highly reminiscent yet updated. Repetition, drum breaks, plucks, and juicy rhythm lines make up the bulk of the satisfying tracks here. The project could easily be a club set with a clear through line stringing up the tracks. It’s easy to begin the album and let it ride without realizing you're listened to the whole thing on repeat twice or thrice. ‘4th Time’ stands out with its dissonant opening, grungy synth base and a pastel-evoking descending riff. Rather than creating complex melodies, Burrell focuses on the interplay between simple phrases of different instruments which he layers with precision to create movement and cohesion. With ‘6th Time,’ strings and a punchy drum machine deliver a tasteful entry to a four-on-the-floor dance-off. It’s a track in which every instrument gets its solo: the synth gets one, the drum goes off, a different synth has its highlight, all creating the affability of the iconographic club jazz band.  

As the Utopia Project, Burrell presents The “V” EP. This project has a similar feel with a little heightened moodiness. In the first track ‘Destiny,’ climbing synths with a motorized texture reach a squeal-pitch. The song abides by the characteristic four-bar phrasing and call-and-response flourishes. ‘Epiphany’ reveals funk but moves a little more crooked than ‘Destiny,’ from beginning to end, meandering a little and enjoying some circularity. ‘Euphoria’ features an analogue intro. Among the exploration of textures from grindy dirty synths to clear hi-production mallet instruments, the voices support one another, but remain distinct. ‘Gifted’ begins the wrap-up with warped synths, up-beat, big-mood marimba, something a little dark lurks, things seem mostly good in the mood. ‘Karma’ rounds out the EP with descending keys, curt bass drum, generous snaps which enhance the moodiness, a baying synth, and a sense of heaviness as indicated by the title. 

While the scene has fleshed out a lot since Burrell’s inception, the seminal artist still conjures the essence of the then-budding genre, showing its relevance and power remaining. In a time when identity is coming to a more public awareness within the sphere of electronic music, Burrell showed up to clarify its roots and show their good health. ⛰️