On A Journey – Zillionaire Playboy (reviewed by Dave Franklin)

Well, that was an unexpected yet very welcome surprise. With a name like Zillionaire Playboy, I was expecting some lowest-common-denominator mumble rapper to sally forth from my speakers. How wrong could I be? What actually emanated out was three sophisticated and seductive electronic dance tracks, but more than that, music that has clearly been thought about, deftly wrought, and which is thoroughly infectious. Well, you know what they say about books and covers!

As “You and Me – Side By Side” fills the room, as its sensual saxophone and welcoming vocals draw us in, you realize that this is going to be a glorious ride through the electro-sphere. And if that might suggest just a slight twist on the usual tried and tested EDM, nothing could be further from the truth. As the drifting sonics coalesce into a gentle dance vibe before exploding into a more energized and euphoric groove, you get the feeling that this is what Vangelis might have sounded like if he abandoned Hollywood film scores and took on the dance world.

“Sunscaped” plays with the same heady blend of ambient drifts and dancefloor drive, and the balance is perfect: a song that demands that you respond to its contagious beats but which then covers them with all manner of scintillating sounds – beguiling synth lines and fleeting sonics, haunting echos of electronica and digital dance delights. It’s a song that, on the one hand, is full of verve and vibe, on the other, atmospheric and groovesome.

This marvelous musical triptych concludes with “Vitality,” an instrumental crafted from liquid beats and pulsing bass lines, hypnotic, repetitive riffs, and lush cinematic soundscaping: the perfect early hours, chill-out anthem for the most exclusive dance venues in uptown clubland.

Originally founded eight years ago by Maxwell Horowitz and Andrew Dolan (also known as Heatrocks), Zillionaire Playboy now sees Horowitz moving forward as the driving force behind the project. The three tracks that make On A Journey show that he is an artist going places; this blend of instantly accessible music and a rich and rewarding soundscape is just what the dance world needs: music that is seductive and sophisticated, groovesome and graceful, understated, yet in its way, gently anthemic…if that isn’t an oxymoron. But play the EP, and you will see exactly what I mean!