aaamusic | On 29, Nov 2010

Miami’s beloved Oscar G returns with a new two-disc release that serves as a fairly decent introduction to his brand of confident tribal house – especially for those of us in the UK, a place that has yet to offer this DJ the adoration he as attained over in The States. This new release – entitled ‘Live From NYC’ – offers both a indication of his DJing skills in the live arena as well as a collection of original studio productions.

Together with his partner in crime Ralph Falcon, Oscar G formed the hugely popular house duo Murk, who began releasing music way back in the early ‘90s. Since then Oscar G has continued solidly releasing original productions and remixes, achieving near legendary status on the East Coast, mainly thanks to his residency at Miami super clubs Space and Mansion (clubs where he has showcased his unnerving stamina with sets often clocking in at a ridiculous ten hours).

Disc 1 captures one of Oscar’s sets from New York’s Pacha, a mix that was recorded live earlier this year. And yes, it really is a live mix with all the crowd cheers, applause, horns and whistles acting as an integral part of the release (opposed to being recording as a ‘live’ feed from the mixer etc.). The enthusiastic crowd interaction actually elevates this rather standard Oscar G mix to something that could be classed as stimulating (at least for the first half of the mix) – each drop and breakdown is made much more exciting thanks to the overwhelming and unified crowd’s response. However, there are two main problems with the mix. The first is that the track selection won’t please a lot of Oscar lovers, with a lot of the fan favourites being excluded. The second is that although Oscar G’s tribal drum-infused house sounds big, with plenty of heavy bass lines and cheese-laden vocals, there is just something missing, which means the clubbing experience that was almost certainly exhilarating and memorable that night at Pacha is simply not recreated. Sure, there are some great moments on the mix, and there’s no denying his influence on US house music, but there just is not enough here to sustain interest for 80 minutes, and it all just sounds a little void of spirit. Oscar G fans will have been expecting a little more given his notoriety as a live performer.

The accompanying disc of ten new studio productions is perhaps a more rounded listen and proves that Oscar G is still a contender when it comes to big room house. ‘Fuck The VIP’ was a great single choice, and it’s always good to hear another one of collaborations with Tamara Wallace, as we do on ‘All About Us.’ The album doesn’t hold up against much of Oscar G’s back catalogue, but it’s certainly not an embarrassing addition to his repertoire.

Author: Clive Rozario