Artist: Momu
Title: Mavericks
Label: Looq Records
By: Nick Williams | 7 March 2007
Tracklist:

• 1. Original Mix
• 2. The Decorators 'FOB' Mix
• 3. Jeff Devas '3 Dollar Bill' Mix

Momu "Mavericks"

'Mavericks' is the 4th single release from Momu's latest and critically acclaimed full length, self-titled album. Named after the famed Northern California surf spot, 'Mavericks' rings soundly in true Momu fashion; crisp, tight production, heady sounds, and backed by great melodies that just speak right to you, without any of the flashy sounds-of-now just to catch people's attention. This release, from San Francisco's Loöq Records, packs a of couple small punches courtesy of Louisianan Jeff Devas, and local San Franciscan talent, The Decorators.

The standout track for me on their album was 'Mavericks', as it combines a familiar Momu-break with dub influenced effects and bass with disturbing, sharp synths. It is definitely a voyage of a song, and as Jondi and Mark describe it, it was one of their greatest collaborations on the album. Ideas flung back and forth between the two with ease, and there are a plethora of ideas in this, as new sounds are introduced at every turn. The progression of the percussion is silky smooth considering the relative harshness coming from the synths, and while not really aimed at the dancefloor, this one keeps your attention from beginning to end. The sounds meld together really well.

Jeff Devas takes these sounds and takes it in his signature melodic direction with his '3 Dollar Bill Remix'. He utilizes some of those signature Momu drum beats and takes it 4 to the floor, opting for a more surging bassline, sparked by the atmospherics from the original. Airy synths play around the original melody, with sharp and deep effected vocal snippits adding accents. He builds and breaks down multiple times bringing in new percussion elements, while working off the original material pretty liberally. The breakdown brings the energy way up with heavy melodic synth action along with some violent, delayed noise washes. Yet, I felt this remix fizzles out as quickly as it builds and I find this remix to be quite repetitive and going nowhere.

The Decorators bring their 'FOB Dub' our way next, and they demand attention from beat one. A heavy plodding kick, with a fun groovy bassline are initiate the track and gets us rolling along right from the first minute. There is a nice use of the original samples, yet, it seems like they could have been used in a more unique way instead as dry samples directly from the original material, that is a little disappointing. A squelchy semi melodic line comes in and carries the track through the middle section. This is a great sound and really acts to take this song in a unique direction, yet it does get a bit overdone right before the song comes to a close.

All in all, this is a pretty great effort on Loöq's part to bring one of the best songs of Momu's album to life in the form of two remixes. While they may not be the most technical of tracks, they will get the dancefloor moving, and isn't that the point?