<p><span><span>- Melbourne DJ/producer Prequel recently released their debut album <em>Love Or (I Heard You Like Heartbreak)</em>. Since 2005 Prequel aka <strong>Jamie Lorusso-Zyskind</strong> has been present in Melbourne’s dance scene, going from strength to strength. So it comes as no surprise that <em>Love Or</em> reflects a degree of craftsmanship and vision while touching on different styles.</span></span></p>
<p><span><span>A slowed sample kicks off the album in <em>I Need Your Love (Intro)</em>, followed by a lovely housey track <em>When Love Is New</em>. It builds expertly with its treated vocal sample and syncopated drums. <strong>Tamil Rogeon</strong>’s strings work really well too, adding some nice harmonies. <em>Violeiro</em> picks up the pace with its Latin sample and banging drums. The loop gives way to all manner of percussion and bass in an excellent breakdown. <em>I'll Never Stop Loving You</em> starts off thick with texture, various elements combining with helpings of (<strong>30/70 </strong>and <strong>JK Group</strong>'s) <strong>Josh Kelly</strong> on saxophone, poured on top. It sort of reminds me of Sydney’s <strong>Directions In Groove</strong>, some saxophone heavy jazz-dance from the '90s. I love the catchy piano hook of <em>All I'm Missing Is You</em>, matched with a rolling bassline. The canned claps give it a live feel, and the track also reminds me of the beloved comedy Seinfeld, with its laugh-track. That clap track leads us into the jazz-funk of <em>I Tried To Tell Him</em>. <strong>Horatio Luna</strong>’s deft bass playing propels the song forward, paired with sampled vocal phrases, <strong>Javier Fredes</strong>’ percussion and more amazing strings from Rogeon. It all comes together to give it a real lively feel. <em>Unaware Of Love</em> is another highlight for me. It’s rather unusual for a dance track as it's in 3/4 time. Consequently it has a waltzy pull, the sample providing a melodic base for some propulsive dums. Then comes the epic <em>And That's The Story Of Their Love</em>, a slow burning house track with layers that unfurl expertly. <em>Love Is</em> has a reflective tone, featuring some stream-of-consciousness spoken word from <strong>Cazeaux O.S.L.O</strong> (riffing off <strong>MFSB</strong>’s<strong> </strong>disco classic <em>Love Is The Message</em> and the themes and titles within the album itself).</span></span></p>
<p><span><span>For a debut album <em>Love Or</em> is a cohesive piece of work. Particularly when you consider that Prequel touches on house and hip-hop, while also looking to jazz and Latin music. That’s what I like to see in dance music - live, acoustic instrumentation, pushing styles and tempos, all wrapped up for me in a neat package.</span></span></p>
<p><span><span>- Hillfolk.</span></span></p>
<iframe style="border: 0; width: 100%; height: 120px;" src="https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=3317584944/size=large/bgcol=f…; seamless><a href="https://prequel.bandcamp.com/album/love-or-i-heard-you-like-heartbreak"… Or (I Heard You Like Heartbreak) by Prequel</a></iframe>