SaPhFiRe - Free Me

Hear The Track Here

Although I'm very familiar with her many MP3 Unsigned forum postings, I think this is the first time I have reviewed any of Saphfire's music. There are only two tracks on her MP3 Unsigned page, Free Me being one of them. I have to say my heart sank when I saw the Dance tag, and even sank a little further when I heard the first few bars of Free Me for the first time. She seems such a nice influence on the usual MP3 Unsigned roughhousers, surely she wouldn't make me bang on about 4-to-the-floor and nails to the head for the entire process? You know how narked I can get when presented with some of the old Whoompah Whoompah (Ed: I think he means the sound you get from discos from the outside. Not, as far as I know, a sexual reference although with Gilmore you never can tell.)

As I say, this is a track you will have to spend a bit of time getting to know and when you do that you will understand what I have to say about it. Free Me is some distance from most things I'd label dance, it interests me in ways that yer normal dance track couldn't even begin to get close to. That's because although the base of the track is obviously pretty standard, what Saphfire is doing over it will ensure that it gets heard outside of the genre. She has a dusky, light vocal style the works well with that rhythmic bass.

Mind you, the music isn't the point of this track, the vocal and the lyrics are.

Consequently then, the music isn't up to much and that is the main reason I had to grow into the track. When you realise that the main fireworks lie in the clever use of vocal samples (the opening section and elsewhere) and the the almost scat, almost talk main vocal. It's that combination that comes to haunt you, and is the real hook of the track. All production and music is from the lady herself and on the strength of this I'd say she has a style developing that will bear keeping an eye on.