Blue Amazon: "Homage (To House)"

The life-cycle of boy bands (valuable column inches this week) has got me thinking: when generating press for a “back from the nineties” event, how do you deal with the solemn hangers-on who never left the decade in the first place? Lee Softley, the surviving self-released half of dance occasionals Blue Amazon, has been doing his thing for over twelve years straight, saying balls to big business and PR sharks (hence the self-releasing bit). Still a big name among the live dance believers and with a signed Madonna remix on his trophy rack, he’s back from the internet with this floaty evolver that says thank you to the sound he made his name with. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll hug strangers and wonder where your mates are. It’s time to go back to the airfield! (COMING SOON: Exciting new studio flats. Yours from only £999 pcm).

Despite sounding slightly like it was recorded on a beta of Music2000, “Homage” is a sturdy little precisely-that, and defiantly lures you into its groove like a spider that takes time with the fly. The keyboard tick and dub piano start the race on light feet before an extremely cheeky synth hook starts barging, the Rolands doing their Mexican wave as the chords open up into skyscape. Unlike the Blue Amazon hit of twelve years ago, though, this time it’s light that showers down on you, and the loop Softley works his rhythms around will have you turning golden-brown in no time. OK, so there’s a tiny initial mismatch between the melodic stab and house outers but the two quickly click, achieving true homage in a little under three minutes, shortly before the first of the summits. With the climbdown added in that’s eight minutes of safe dance middle ground, and one that—with the right nudge—could easily become a club staple, provided the punters like it nice and 1997-y.