Reviews By Mike Bond
REEL PEOPLE FEAT. TONY MOMRELLE & IMAANI - AMAZING
PAPA RECORDS

TRACKLISTING
Amazing (Radio Edit)
Amazing (Jon Cutler's Distant Music Mix)
Amazing (Tarantulaz Main Mix)
Amazing (Tarantulaz Dub)

Creating the kind of by-the-numbers pop trance you hear blasting out of a souped up Ford Fiesta late on a typical Saturday night, the smell of Kebabs and vomit in the air or that boosh boosh boosh dance anthem business that gets played endlessly on Radio 1, Reel People Featuring Tony Momrelle and Imaani's latest single AMAZING is about as derivative, dull and forgettable as you'd perhaps imagine.

REEL PEOPLE FEAT. TONY MOMRELLE & IMAANI - AMAZING

The latest in a seemingly endless conveyor belt line of this style of trance pop that's been rolling out since the early nineties, AMAZING feels like just another slice of forgettable fluff designed to fill the latest mainstream dance compilation.  Tony Momrelle and Imaani delivers their vocals in a bored dull manner over bland, derivative beats; each remix here managing to extend the track even further into the realms of the dull and unoriginal.

BIOGRAPHY
When ambitious young record store manager Oli Lazarus initiated his Reel People project back in 2000 he could only have dreamt of where those first tentative steps would lead him. Whilst at Flying Records Lazarus gained a passion for dancefloor grooves and a valuable experience of the music industry working with the store's sister label Chillifunk and decided his future lay in music production and A&R.
Utilising the guidance of West London production don Phil Asher (restless soul), the talents of multi-instrumentalist Nathan Haines and the assistance of sometime Chilli Funk engineer Tom Davidson, Oli set about creating the project's first release. "Spiritual", later remixed by Jon Cutler and Seiji (Bugz In The Attic), found favour with some of London's finest underground DJs, and proved to be a turning point for Lazarus.
The record became the debut release on his own Papa Records imprint, a label set up initially for the purpose of releasing Reel People material, but which has since courted considerable success with tracks from DJ Spinna, Osunlade, Jon Cutler and Blaze amongst others. With another single "Reeltime" soon following, Reel People began to gain a reputation as a fresh new production outfit straddling the boundaries of house and broken beat.
During the course of many studio sessions in 2002. Oli came across the talents of Mike Patto, a gifted musician and songwriter. Their was an instant rapport between the pair, which led to Lazarus inviting Mike to join Reel People as a permanent, fulltime member. Patto brought an invaluable compositional element to the outfit and they began a songwriting stint that was to shape the contents of their debut album.
Working with Dyanna Fearon, a vocalist from the D-Influence stable, Reel People began to take shape as an actual band and not merely a studio-based outfit, with early collaborations such as "Butterflies", "Second Guess", "Washing Away" and "Back 2 Base" beginning to define the new sound of the ensemble. Additional contributions from vocalist Vanessa Freeman, and highly regarded producers Phil Asher, DJ Spinna plus Bugz In The Attic's Seiji and Afronaught strengthened the group's sound.
Following the album’s full release on Papa in July 2003, Reel People plucked two singles to precede the longplayer's release. The first of these, "Can't Stop", was recorded partially in New York with featured vocalist Angela Johnson (Cooly's Hot Box) and proved to be a worldwide club hit. The next few singles “Butterflies” and “The Light” featuring the amazing vocals of Vanessa Freeman followed and only served to enhance Reel People’s growing reputation.
Support for the album gained momentum, and the band embarked on a string of worldwide live dates, producing knockout appearances at London's legendary Jazz Café, Southport Weekender, V Festival and the Tokyo Jazz Festival where the band supported Herbie Hancock and friends. Reel People established a reputation for superb musicianship and expert crowd motivation. The shows in Japan led to the band being signed to Columbia Records.
In December 2004, an opportunity presented itself for the band to perform at the 2004 House Music Awards in London, where they had been nominated in several categories. Seizing the opportunity to play in front of many of music industry's movers and shakers the band brought the house down with yet another electric performance.
This led to Defected Records re-releasing ‘Second Guess’ in early 2006 with three brand new tracks plus an additional cd of live versions. Mike and Oli again drafted in the amazing vocals of Angela Johnson on two of the singles ‘In the Sun’ and the pinpoint cover of the Thelma Houston classic ‘You Used To Hold Me So Tight’.
Also featured on the album for the first time was ‘The Rain’ featuring Basement Jaxx vocalist Sharlene Hector. The single was a huge hit, defining the band’s sound and proving to be a massive part of the new live show.
The release of the album was followed by another world tour taking in Sao Paolo, Miami, Europe and the UK. The band also played a weeklong stint at the famous Blue Note clubs in Japan.
Reel People ended 2006 with fabulous performances at the legendary Ronnie Scotts jazz club in London and also playing to 3,000 people at the Southport Weekender. The band is now made up of eight core members; Oli Lazarus (DJ, Producer), Mike Patto (Producer, Keyboards & Vocals), Vanessa Freeman (Vocals), Tasita D’Mour (Vocals), Scotty Baylis (Keyboards), Leon Stenning (Guitar) and Tristan Banks (Drums).
2007 looks like being the most exciting year yet with Mike and Oli currently working hard on the second album which is due for a summer release..

LINKS

Review date: January 2008