Sven Van Hees

Like its name implies, Calypso is a very sunny tropical album, with beats that are lazy and have a Latin feel to them. Organs and strings provide an underpinning to many of the songs, and saxophones and female singers handle the rest of the melodic duties. This is Dutch producer Van Hees's second album and "Suspension On Disbelief" opens it with smooth strings, spoken female vocals and a funky guitar line that George Clinton would be proud to call his own. "Born to Be Mild" lives up to its name with an excellent saxophone solo over slower beats and "Movin' On" is a soulful, jazz-flavoured house track with a male singer repeating, "Got to move on." Also, the title track is one of the best on the album, with complex and exciting flute and trumpet work backed by breakbeats, cowbells, slap bass and some funky '70s samples. This album isn't breaking any new ground, but as modern lounge music and down-tempo house goes, it's good stuff.