Crazy Detroit representation on this one. First we have Dabrye on the beat, who's previous instrumental work (hip hop on the verge of techno) captured Prefuse's heart enough to release him on Eastern Developments. Then vocals come from Jay Dee and Phat Kat, two of Motown's most celebrated on the mic; and if that wasn't enough, ghetto-tech king Disco D gets mixing credit (strangely enough mastering credit goes to someone in Berlin, do they know something we don't?). If you're a fan of any of those folks' work, you can already guess what "Game Over" sounds like; hard drum programming under Kraftwerk-like melodies, capped by aggressively laid-back vocals, all mixed down to crispiness. We also get a taste of what's to come from Dabrye's instrumental files with "Magic Says." For my taste at least, this dubbed out, slow motion composition sounds like his style has matured to perfection. Well worth the wait on all accounts. Includes instrumental and clean acapella for "Game Over."

• music label: Ghostly International / 2004

reviewed by JMS 05/2005