Call me jaded, but basing a gentle, somewhat MOR house track around what the press release calls “one of the most important jazz-funk records of the 1970’s” doesn’t exactly sound enticing. Built from a rather liberal sample of Bob James “Westchester Lady,” Cambridge producer Semtek’s “West Acyd Shelter” does about the best job you could hope for with this kind of material, a level of smooth 70’s cheesiness that hasn’t yet been rescued by the cyclical nature of nostalgic hipsterdom. “Acyd” — which isn’t quite acid, perhaps the reason for the y, with its central squelch as neutered as the “jazz-funk” would suggest — speeds the original’s easygoing chug into something that politely charges forward, and Semtek’s lush synths do a nice job of padding the beat in between sections of cherry picked melodies and vamping guitars. The track’s main riff cuts through like blazing sunlight, a bit of welcome edge and fire to through all that greasy polish, but even it is preened to a fine slick. The whole thing confusingly fades out into a minute of nasty distortion, almost like a palate cleanser after all that distilled refinement.
Photonz’ remix of “West Acyd Shelter” is more in line with current trends in UK bass, de-centering the beat even further before landing with a militarist garage pattern that injects vitality into the smooth jazz complacency, an unclassifiable take on an already confusing track. Flipside “East Acyd Shelter” is more traditional house pulled down with druggy delay and foreboding sustain. Its catchy analog bass line is at odds with the shiny metallics that rip through the center or the flowy guitar notes that link it to “West Acyd,” and while it might not be as interesting it’s certainly a lot easier to figure out. With this single Semtek has crafted an unlikely success out of even more unlikely source material; and even if it’s hard to figure out exactly where “West Acyd Shelter” fits in the troubling world of genres, it’s also hard to care while it’s playing.
