AJ Mora's debut release builds a foundation for Christian house. I'm not referring to God's house, a church, or even a physical house. This is house music, the kind found reverberating through the clubs of L.A. While this may be AJ Mora's first release in the Christian market, he has been producing positive vinyl that has found its home in L.A. clubs and among the Top 10 on DJ charts.
Scott Blackwell, the founder of N-Soul records, broke ground for Christian house with his first three albums and now brings us AJ Mora. But while they both create house music, Mora's style is less robust than Blackwell's. Blackwell's work has a very full sound incorporating a lot of musical instruments, where Mora relies mainly on beats-the kind that'll make you move.
These beats begin with the first track as its name, "The Message - Inspirational Dub Beats," would suggest and continues through the last track, a chopped-up-beat remix of an earlier track. The foundation of Mora's house is an unstoppable bass beat. The remaining sounds consist of a drum set (with hi-hats, cymbals, snare drums), and a synthesizer. The synthesized notes are so quick and short in length that they sound like beats.
All the tracks have an undeniable groove, but two tracks deviate from the rest of the album in how they generate this groove. "I Found Something Real" is of a variety of house with the hi-hat, organ, and wailing divas referred to as deep house. This song has a fuller sound than the rest of the album and comes closest to being radio-friendly. Expect to see this single on Christian dance charts. The other variant is "River Of Life," a rap with the chorus being a soulful R&B rendition of the children's classic by the same name.
I've got a river of life flowing out of me Makes the lame to walk and the blind to see Opens prison doors Sets the captives free I've got a river of life flowing out of me
"River Of Life" is laid back and seems very slow in the middle of all these upbeat tracks. While these two songs are musically of their own style, lyrically they are alike in that they are the only tracks with verses and a chorus.
Remembering that the emphasis is on the beat, the lyrics are usually praise and worship one-liners, either spoken samples or sung by a female and repeated through-out the song. For any given song its name is usually the extent of its lyrics-"Now's The Time," "I Believe," "Rapture (C-mon lift me up)." For those resisting the groove enough to stand still, they might find something to ponder in the spoken sample:
All that is visible must grow beyond itself Extend into the realm of the invisible.
To add club authenticity to the tracks, He adds some vocal samples, lyrics, and beat sounds as if "scratched" straight from a DJ's turntable.
This album is not for everyone. AJ Mora has presented a minimalist view of dance music. If lyrics, complex melodies, or diversity of instruments don't contribute to the vibe on the dance floor, then he's rejected them. This will make his music too repetitive and simplistic for some, usually those choosing to remain seated. For us dance fans and DJ's, we will happily spin this CD and move.
