Artist: Momu Feat Alysoun Quinby
Title: Window
Label: Looq Records
By: Ryan Simoneau | 14 October 2008
Tracklist:

• 1. Original Mix
• 2. PQM Deephead Pass
• 3. Jason Knight Mix
• 4. Jondi & Spesh 'Amazing 80s' Mix
• 5. PQM Instrumental Pass

Momu Feat Alysoun Quinby "Window"

San Francisco based Momu are back with the first single from their forthcoming sophomore album, “Momentum”. Featuring vocals from Alysoun Quinby, “Window” sees the duo of Jondi and Mark Musselman branching out from the atmospheric breakbeat sounds they became known for and adopting a more vocal-led direction.

The original mix is a deep broken-beat affair backed with a pop-tastic synth line. In my opinion, “Window” is the kind of tune that usually signifies a more “artist” based approach as opposed to something for the club. That is achieved here but the end result pales in comparison to contemporaries like Hybrid and Way Out West who really wrote the book on down tempo tunes like this. The bottom line is that the lack of tempo change and a memorable chorus prevents “Window” from ever taking off.

PQM’s “Deephead Pass” takes its stab and speeds up the tempo for the dancefloor. Unfortunately, this mix is neither a dramatic improvement over the original nor particularly memorable. There’s an instrumental version included as well, which is better but still not stellar by any stretch. I had high hopes for this but PQM has certainly done better remixes.

Jason Knight goes the 4/4 route with his version of “Window” as a dark and pulsating bass line sets the scene with Alysoun’s vocals sounding much more at home in this setting. Lots of fantastic effects are dropped throughout the tune and the melody Jason employs is particularly effective and contagious. In my opinion this version trumps the original and single handedly saves this release.

Jondi & Spesh’s “Amazing 80’s Remix” doesn’t sound very much like anything from the eighties nor is it amazing but is a full on electro breaks rework. However, this remix falls flat and doesn’t inspire any repeated listens. Its tempo is simply too similar to the original and never goes anywhere.

“Window” feels like more of an album filler track and less of a lead single for Momu’s new album. While the duo does keep it deep, the mixes are not very memorable except for the excellent Jason Knight remix which is the highlight of the entire package. I’d encourage anyone who is a fan of Momu’s early work to check that out as it has all the melody and bass one would want in a Momu tune. Hopefully “Momentum” has much more to offer than this single suggests.