NEVARIS

The album had me hooked within the first twenty seconds of its opening track, "Dub Sol." The sexy horns, panning beats, and incense smoke bass lured me into an exotic desert tent where you are sorely tempted to stay the rest of your life. "Disruption" has some of the best horn arrangements on the record from Apfelbaum, and DJ Logic gets to strut his scratching stuff as well on the track.

Laswell's excellent dub bass returns on "Ninth Sun," which also percolates with plenty of weird, trippy effects created by him. "Remedy" could easily fit into a mystery film set in Jamaica, while "Interference" would slide easily into a Bond film soundtrack – particularly a scene in which Bond enters an exotic casino in order to set up a trade of valuable information and ends up in a dangerous situation that's either going to get him killed or laid.

It's only appropriate, then, that the following track is called "Safehouse," and we can imagine Bond making it out of the casino in one'piece and kicking back with a lovely lady in a backroom lounge at a Kingston restaurant. The track instantly puts you in a calming place with synth effects and reverberated beats that slow you down and bring you some much-needed chill.

"Frequencia" thumps and bumps in all the right places, with DJ Logic's subtle scratching mixing well with the hand percussion and Hammond organ riffs. The closer, "Lockatronic," gives drummer Lockatron plenty of time to show you how he locks it down and puts the whole band in his back pocket. He absolutely snaps every beat.

I love experimental, almost ambient dub albums like this. It's solid.

Keep your mind open.

Nik Havert (courtesy of the 7th Level Music website)

Although you can consider Reverberations as Nevaris' debut album, in the sense that it is the first to bear his own name, it is the third collaboration between him, Bill Laswell, and a number of the musicians found here—the perfect position to offer something both familiar and fresh. And if the familiarity is provided by this sonic gang’s ability to bring the best out of each other, the freshness comes from the dub-infused path along which they drive their music.

At the heart is Nevaris's sonic influences - European and Mexican - his generational roots in the East and West coasts and his love of afro-beat, Latin, funk, and dub music. By the time everyone else finds where they fit into the mix and makes themselves comfortable, you have something exceptional.

A series of dub-heavy, funky instrumentals, songs are driven along on Latin grooves and psychedelic swirls of organ, full-on brass attacks and sassy sax solos, sun-drenched vibes, and sonics that capture the hustle and bustle of the city he calls home, New York City.

Although not a concept album, it is one designed to be listened to as a whole, in one sitting, all the better to appreciate its shifting moods and genre-hopping ways, its elegance and eclecticism, its flair and adventure.

Reverberations is the sound of seasoned musicians and old friends pushing each other to go further, music being made away from the pressures of fad or fashion or prying record company eyes. It is the sound of music being made for all the right reasons. Friendship, sonic adventure, and the joy of pure creativity. And that is a rare thing these days.

Dave Franklin (courtesy of the Big Takeover website)

Reverberations is an album created by musician Nevaris (percussion/keyboards) and bassist/producer Bill Laswell, with a lineup that includes DJ Logic, guitarists Will Bernard and Matt Dickey, and Peter Apfelbaum on horns. Sitting in a similar part of the musical forest to the Comet IS Coming, combining horns with electronics this is altogether lighter and more refreshing than Shabaka Hutchings crew.

This is the third collaboration between Nevaris, and Laswell, and is more dub based than their earlier albums. They released those under the name Loud Apartment. 'New Future' is an EP of 4 tunes with dub versions of 3, and System Breakdown a full album. They both have a blend of Jazz, Hip Hop and Reggae that is a step away from the more thoughtful dubs on 'Reverberation'.

'Disruption' is the first tune to really grab the listener with some fine soloing by Apfelbaum. Ninth Sun and Remedy are far moodier, with the horns blending further into the background.

Bill Laswell needs no introduction, but if like me Nevaris is a new name, he is a percussionist, keyboardist, vocalist, and composer heavily influenced by afro-latin, dub, and funk music. He was born and raised on the Upper West Side of Manhattan near Rock Steady Park, and here and on the earlier Loud Apartment releases there is n unmistakable New York feel. You can almost here the traffic noise on 'Safehouse'. 'Frequencia' leads with Hammond Organ, and percussion. 'Lockatronic' is a feature for drummer, Lockatron, and reminds me of Denis Bovell's dubs. It all comes together on 'Interference' were horns, turntables, and percussion mesh together to create an urban soundscape of blended sounds.

Nevaris says,"It's a dub-based project, with breakbeat, funk, ambient, and afro-latin elements. It’s rhythm based music where the pocket is essential. Lockatron is a huge part of that, as, of course, is Bill Laswell, DJ Logic and everyone else involved. Peter Apfelbaum's horn arrangements are also a core aspect. In my mind, it's a cohesive piece of music that is best listened to as a whole rather than as individual songs. And Bill takes it where it needs to go with the production like no one else really can". And he’s right about that. This is a wonderful mix of styles and genres and I'd love to see them live.

Dave Franklin (courtesy of the 160gig Blog blog)