Over the last several years, Tom Misch has firmly remained a mainstay of UK neo-soul, nu-jazz, R&B. His incredible abilities as a musician, songwriter and producer have led to some slick collaborations with the likes of Loyle Carner, De La Soul and Michael Kiwanuka, to name but a few, with Misch’s own solo records a testament to his faculty as a record maker. Three years on from his 2020 sophomore studio effort, ‘What Kinda Music’, Tom Misch has concocted a new alter-ego in the form of Supershy. With a focus on Detroit rhythms, obscure sample selection and undeniable grooves, Supershy delivers his debut record: ‘Happy Music’. And the title couldn’t be more apt.
‘Happy Music’ is forty minutes of nonstop beats and grooves, vintage synthesisers meshed with clean, polished drum foundations, a smattering of obscure soul samples thrown in to sweeten the already-sunny tracks. The record is repetitive and meditative, each track emitting a certain softness rather than the earth-shaking pulse of most house tracks; though that said, ‘Happy Music’ would absolutely go down a storm in any nightclub.
Supershy seems to be carving his shape as a bridge between Detroit and Chicago – pumped with contemporary sound design and an external perspective. Throughout the record, most notably on cuts like ‘If You Were My Girl’ and ‘Keep It Rising’, the influence of seminal producers like Larry Heard, Moodymann and Kerri Chandler can be heard, though Tom Misch’s clear love of the genre becomes less pastiche and more an appreciation, a respect for the genre, the culture, the legacy. ‘Happy Music’ does tackle a sound that has been loved, adored and revered for decades, and Tom Misch’s (Supershy’s) attention to detail and production prowess continues to elevate that and push it to a wider audience.
‘Happy Music’ blossoms with every fresh sample chop and beat switch, a technicolour opus in Tom Misch’s discography. By paying homage to the sounds of Detroit and Chicago, utilising vintage analogue machines and injecting his signature groove and flair, the end result is a sun-soaked dance party.
7/10
Words: James Mellen
