Gavin Froome

Gavin Froome :: Underground Heroes Nordic Trax XLR8R Magazine :: WEB: http://www.xlr8r.com

Froome's Vancouver roots show on this album, which, like his city, blends influences from around the world. Largely pitched at that delicate point between lounging and dancing, Froome's third album is consistently excellent, without getting overly consistent. Take "All Night," a slowed-down groove that seems paced to take you to dawn, sandwiched between the joyful "Get Up," with its dancefloor urgings, and "Southie," with its fantastic organ and percussion. But the disc has other surprises as well from the funky to the deep ? something few other artists manage to pull off.
XLR8R (Luciana Lopez)

Gavin Froome :: Underground Heroes Nordic Trax
BPM Magazine :: WEB: http://www.djmixed.com

Gavin Froome is a true underground hero. The Vancouver, Canada native has been persevering in the house scene steadily for years now, making a reputation with his subtle yet refined way with a four/four beat that is as full of impact as it is unobtrusive. On Underground Heroes, a full-length of all original compositions, Froome's leanings are obvious and welcome. On the deep and moody Underground Heroes, it's all about what ends up in the back of your head rather than what is banging in your face. Bordering on quiet with numbers such as 'Dennison,' there is still a very powerful pull towards the dancefloor. On tracks like 'All Night,' the draw towards grooving is a little more apparent, but still remains tasteful. Although primarily based on a deep house blueprint, there are definite strains of jazz strung throughout Froome's most recent work, making it more than a one-dimensional series of house beats.
(Lily Moayeri)

Gavin Froome :: Underground Heroes Nordic Trax
Untitled Music UK :: WEB: http://www.untitledmusic.co.uk

In a tribute to those that have inspired him Gavin Froome returns to Nordic Trax to create an album of stylish musical gems. If you're a Jazzanova, St Germain, Compost Records or Ben Watt fan then prick your ears back for this. Twelve tracks to enjoy, with the likes of "Think Of You" showing the kind of class there is to be had. Solid beats and looping keys float along with drifty tones and some fine bongo percussion. "All Night" has a later night vibe, hypnotic shapes and superb instrumentation make this stand the hairs on your neck up. "Alpine Pools" is another deep house gem, with a cracking bassline and the kind of rhythm that demands the dance floor gets your undivided attention. Froome continues to build a catalogue of releases other can only envy, and Nordic Trax continue their work to the highest standards as ever. 

Gavin Froome – Underground Heroes (Nordic Trax)
Mosoul UK :: WEB: http://www.mosoul.co.uk

"Underground Hereos" is a pleasant tribute to Gavin's musical idols. Taking in faceless yet attractive house numbers and reverent downbeat hitters, it's hardly a novel outing, yet there's something mighty appealing about this album. "After The Rain" has been put together at walking speed and relies on beautiful keys, refined string and golden guitars to please its listeners. "Sunsets" is a brilliant housey cut, with compressed beats, heavenly synth touches and a wavering bass. "Dennison" drags its feet, as ever-so-lovely keys wander alongside supermodel-thin strings and smiley synths. Another quality collection from Vancouver's finest.
Jon Freer

Gavin Froome :: Underground Heroes
In The Mix Australia :: WEB: http://www.inthemix.com

Vancouver-based DJ / producer Gavin Froome's debut 1999 album 'Mobile Villager' showed him injecting deep dubby textures into soulful, disco-infused 4/4 house rhythms, and received acclaim as well as heavy play from the likes of Laurent Garnier and Carl Cox. Building on from this initial success, Froome's second album 'Post + Beam' (released 2001) saw him refining his deep-house constructions even further for a soul-tinged collection of tracks that veered at points completely away from house towards downtempo beats, and following 'Post + Beam's release, Froome embarked on an extensive tour of North America, armed only with his trusty MPC-2000 sampler (enabling him to rework tracks live 'on the fly').

'Underground Heroes' is Gavin Froome's third album through the slightly curiously-named but nonetheless Canadian Nordic Trax imprint, and shows Froome honing down the trademark fusion of deep house and jazz-tinged soul explored on 'Post + Beam' even further, rather than breaking the mould. After a brief intro track that blends ambient synth washes with some strangely Vangelis-like reverberating chords, 'Think Of You' takes things directly into percussive deep house, with soul-jazz keys tracing their way around crisply-programmed snares, rattling Latin-tinged percussion rolls, and a deep warm funk bassline anchoring it all. With a soft-focus synth ambience trailing throughout that nicely offsets the upbeat house beats with an element of chill, this is deliciously smooth deep jazz house that while surely go down well with fans of the likes of Kaskade and Miguel Migs. 'Get Up' calls to mind DJ Sneak's jazzy house fusions, with slightly cut-off horn stabs and sampled soul vocal fragments rolling over a clicking backdrop of crisp house beats and wafting synths, before 'All Night' takes things down into slow, hiphop-informed downtempo beats underpinned by rich live bass, gentle acoustic guitar and trailing saxaphone swells that float alongside dubbed-out snatches of soulful female vocals.

'Southie' brings back the 4/4 house rhythms, laying down some rich Hammond organ swells over a funk-infused live bassline that snakes its way through delayed-out guitar riffs, stabs of bright jazz horns and feather-light snares, leading into 'Boozy A.M.', which takes things back down into smoky downtempo territory, with swing-jazz beats tracing their way beneath dubbed-out Hammond organ riffs, trailing synths and a warm, rich double-bass line that's straight out of The Herbaliser. 'Alpine Pools' takes things straight back into deep house, with some cut-up and stuttery loops ala DJ Sneak or Roger Sanchez spinning back and forth over relentless crisp house beats, a deep funk bassline and what even sounds like some phased whistling thrown in amongst the shimmering synths, while 'After The Rain' drops the tempo down for a downbeat wander through ghostly delayed-out strings, shimmering synth drones and twinkling piano, that also threads a few stray Edge-like guitar textures through its lush, layered backdrop.

First single 'Sunsets' (sourced by Sander Kleinenberg for his latest 'Renaissance' compilation) ventures out into lush Detroit-infused atmospheric deep house, with shimmering synths spiraling their way around a relentless punching 4/4 beat, while funky analogue keyboard squiggles and layered gospel-soul vocals drift over the handclaps and snares, before 'Dennison' shifts into a curious hybrid of crisp icy electro rhythms and chilled deep house, soft keyboard chords ringing out over a lush expansive backdrop of droning synths and twinkling textures. Finally, 'Plane Jane' takes things to a widescreen deep-house close, with distant thobbing bass slowly locking into rhythm alongside fuzzed-out synth tones, metronomically-clicking streamlined tech-house rhythms and trailing synth ambience, a suitably deep and smooth ending to this beautifully-sculpted album.

' Underground Heroes' is an excellent third album from Vancouver native Gavin Froome, that shows him honing the smooth and soulful blend of jazz, downtempo, funk and deep house influences he explored on previous albums 'Mobile Villager' and 'Post + Beam' even further down, resulting in an involving and cohesive 'artist' album, rather than just a collection of club tracks. Downtempo moments here such as 'Boozy AM' and 'All Night' also clearly show that Froome is just as adept behind the controls when he drops the house bpms, and one thing that definitely adds to the textural richness of this album is the presence of live instrumentation and sampled performances on many of these tracks. Another strong release from the Nordic Trax camp – fans of the likes of Kaskade, DJ Sneak and the Naked Music label should definitely investigate 'Underground Heroes.' - Various Publications