My 4 Stars

Fabrice Lig is a prolific Belgian producer who has gained the respect of many of his Detroit-based inspirations. He's even notched releases on Dan Bell's 7th City (an excellent collaborative 12" with Titonton Duvante) and Kevin Saunderson's KMS, and his tracks have recently been included in mixes released by Carl Craig (2002's The Workout) and DJ Koze (2004's All People Is My Friends). While he's not afraid to divulge his inspirations, he's doing more to build on them than perform mere mimicry. Compared to Roots of the Future, the full-length he released just months prior, My 4 Stars isn't quite as streamlined or as heady. The arrangements are prone to being too busy and ornate when they'd be perfectly effective with fewer ingredients. (Perhaps fittingly so, this is the main criticism aimed at many releases from the Kanzleramt label.) The tempos are once again kept brisk throughout, and he continues to work with thick chords while treating house and techno as if they're one and the same. Vinyl buyers wanting a recent place to go for some of Lig's best work should seek out Meet U in Brooklyn, an excellent 12" of mid-tempo, Balihu/Environ-style boogie released on Playhouse in 2003.