STEP IN FLUID: Back In Business (FUSION METAL): review / opinion to read on Music Waves

It is with a genuine happiness that we find the French of Step In Fluid. A happiness proportional to the number of years that separate this well named "Back In Business" from the first album "One Step Beyond" which had greatly enthralled us. For this second album, the thinking head of the group Harun Demiraslan has surrounded himself with the same talents while adding Gerald Villain's know-how to the keyboards and programming.

By starting the reading you are instantly transported by the jazz-core mutant signature of the combo that has not disappeared during these eight years of interval. Step In Fluid remains this crucible in which the combination of sharp metal guitar saturations and elements from softer music like funk and jazz is combined, all enhanced by a large dose of groove. This high-temperature assembling creates an original and particularly high-contrast alloy that has been the hallmark of the combo since its inception.

No downtime is observed in this short opus (thirty minutes) but well furnished with a wide variety of styles. Step In Fluid sends a splash of its fusion that draws from the past with the funkys "Booty Shake", with a very explicit title, and "Streets Of San Francisco" which starts all screaming sirens to immerse us in the very distinctive sounds of the 80's. Another key genre of these years is jazz-rock, which appears in the languorous "Westside Step" coloured with west-coast tones and "Sex In An Elevator" with very expressive analog keyboards. And if we listen carefully, we will also hear some nuances from Steve Vai, a phenomenon also born in the decade, in the dantean end of 'Sex A Pile'.

Quickly the listening reveals a Step In Fluid with envy and freshness intact that has used these eight long years to refine and improve the already highly successful recipe of "One Step Beyond". All this involves subtle differences such as a drum sound whose slamming is balanced with more roundness or the exchange of urban hip-hop tones for a vast sample of instruments (the flute in 'Sex In An Elevator' flute and the ethnic percussion of 'Sex A Pile' and 'The Stranger') and electric, analogical or acoustic keyboard textures (the superb piano of'The Stranger' that you would think played by Lyle Mays) that also bring a whole panel of ambiences.

The Stranger' and'From A Friend' sound like a jazz composed by Pat Metheny with an epic side for the first and a voluptuous piano and saxophone choreography for the second, the excellent 'The Funk Bot Dance' plunges us into a strange universe with its imposing Carpenter Brut-like keyboards while 'Westside Step' distils its psychedelic vapours. The extra finishing to this album can also be heard in the presence of three delightful guitar solos from the Demiraslan-Guadagnino pair ('Streets Of San Francisco', 'Sex A Pile' and 'The Stranger'), which at the same time compensate for an absence that we had noticed in the first album.

The talent for composition springs up again with Step in Fluid and if "One Step Beyond" shone through its intuitive and spontaneous side, "Back In Business" seems more elaborate and displays more accomplished harmonic and melodic arguments. And what can we say about the musicians except that the strong individualities (special mention to Florent Marcadet, one of the very best drummers of today) blend perfectly into the collective for the benefit of the music. After the "One Step Beyond" slap eight years ago, the back of the hand comes back even stronger and faster for the 2019 version slap. - Official website

STEP IN FLUID

BACK IN BUSINESS

KLONOSPHERE

FUSION METAL