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29 January 2004
Mark Riva, Sungrooves (Kriztal Entertainment)
DJ Mark Riva doesn't want to change your life with his music; he just wants to put a big contented grin on your face, and he mostly succeeds with this, his debut mix album. Riva's sound is equal parts San Francisco-style deep house and Latin/Brazilian percussion and polyrhythms -- hardly an original sound, it must be said, but one skillfully deployed here. Many well-known purveyors of beats more hangin' than bangin' are represented, including Francois K, Kevin Yost and Chris Brann's P'taah project (superbly remixed by the ever-reliable Atjazz), but Riva's mix really shines when he digs a little deeper and delivers tracks from relative unknowns. "Shine On" from Naked Music's Dave Warrin is a hypnotic early highlight, and the late inclusion of Cuica's infectiously jazzy "Nights Over Vauxhall" is a masterstroke, a track whose densely layered solo instruments and percussive elements evoke peak-hour energy without disrupting the set's laid-back vibe. Cuts from Afro-Mystik, Rivera Rotation, Ive Mendes and Wagon Cookin' also shine, though some of Riva's other selections (like "Felicidad Nova", a cushy samba from former Detroit techno maven John Beltran, of all people) veer too far into "easy listening" territory even for this sunny, strawberry daiquiri of a set.
— Andy Hermann
.: posted by Editor 9:32 AM
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