Q-Burns Abstract Message
Invisible Airline
Astralwerks
Orlando hero Q-Burns (aka Michael Donaldson) returns with more eclecticism than a John Waters fan club, but with a groove-is-in-the-heart feel attached to it. Flying on this Airline, I gain a nostalgic, familiar feeling of one of Q-Burns’ resident gigs at local bar Knock Knock. The dance aesthetics he explores on those nights are prevalent, but a folk and soul persona soon emerges under such tracks as “Innocent” and “Shame.” As afro-beat soon swelters under bleeping tweaks and lucid breakbeats on “Asi Nisi Masi,” it is proven that Q-Burns isn’t in his right state of mind. Or maybe his music provokes such a reaction for you to believe that.
In any circumstance, this is a cornucopia of synapse-drenching sound, filled with the heart and soul of legendary funk, courted by digitized MCs on “Imprisoned Glitch” and muttered guitar drenching on “Drifting Off.” It’s like Q-Burns threw down a megamix for a house party, but only Kid n’ Play weren’t invited. For original productions, the potency of his DJing carries well into the boards. You can dance, feel melancholy, and surround yourselves around the warmth that this message has provided, although it is not quite as abstract as one would perceive. We all need to travel through this Airline at least once, because its jetsetting style is worth more than the forced smile, five peanuts, and eyedropper of Coke that normal airlines deal us on any flight.
Astralwerks Records, 104 West 29th Street, 4th Floor, New York, NY 10001; http://www.astralwerks.com
