Equation
I’ll Say A Prayer/Dum Dum Yeah Mmuh/My Life
Tu Chicks/US/12
This is a reissue of an old Ronald Burrell Nu Groove EP from 1989. It seems that the Tu Chicks in question on the label are Judy Russell and Karen Mendez, the brains behind the sadly missed Nu Groove label, and it looks as if a few old chestnuts may well be coming our way. “I’ll Say A Prayer” sounds as fresh as it did in the label’s halcyon days. It’s a simple drum and bass affair with a title line sample, a clipped, resonating bassline, and haunting, drifting strings. On the flipside, Dum Dum Yeah Mmuh” us a scatty percussion number, the sort of track Burrell is famous for. “My Life” is a cut up take on Roy Ayers’ “Everybody Loves The Sunshine.” These tracks aren’t amazing, but dead handy in the mix. However, this disc does show what an innovative label Nu Groove was: long may its legacy reign. Chris Orr