Doc Link is a cat that's been around Chicago for more than two decades. He just does what he does and woe unto you if you don't notice, because he makes beats that send the mega-hyped Agency DJs back to crate-diggin' in the ghetto flea markets. Probably his best known cut was a remix of Roy Davis Jr and Malik's "Back 2 Chicago" (officially, Infinity featuring Malik) - a release that has in about 7 years has become quite a rarity until it resurfaced again last year on Osunlade's installment in King Street's Mix the Vibe
According to horse's mouth, Doc teamed up with Eman to form Liberate Recordings in 2006, but was definitely a "for those who know label". In the last year, they've spread out their marketing tentacles in a manner inspired by some low-key genius. Myself and folks like me get samplers every so often, packed with upcoming releases and typically with names attached that will get a jaded son-of-a-bitch's attention. Their last sampler (reviewed here) featured remixes by Jon Cutler, Todd Terry and Demarkus Lewis. See? Your ears instantly perked up. Genius.
The latest installment of Liberate's not-for-sale series is another 4 track stomper, featuring company men Doc and Eman along side Alton Miller, DJ Romain, and past Liberate-collaborator Angel-A (not Alanis, but the vocalist from Detroit featured on 2009's "Escape").
Now there are some great sounds on here, but frankly I can't even listen to them because the Doc & Angel collab "Lifts Me Higher" makes the most beautiful ballad sound like angsty white noise. This is all sunshine and pecks on the cheek for the Barry White lateshift, strictly for the Deep and R&B crowd with hooks so finely polished that someone at a major publisher ought to write them a blank check for their services as songwriters. Only a few times have I heard a track and thought it was too good for the club, and this is one of those times.
(That might be a strange reaction, but if you've been subjected to what those pointy-haired trogs do to good songs with their unauthorized and frankly unasked-for progressive fidgety trance-o-matic edits, you know that my intention here is a good one. It's like a lover of the arts being subjected to a room with wall-to-wall black velvet paintings of The Elephant Man. It's just wrong and you sort of feel bad for the person with so little taste to own it but even worse for anyone forced to look.)
But here you go: a beautiful song that is well-written enough for even those emptying out their brains to commercial radio to listen to. And the slammin' Linkbeats in the intro are guaranteed to get anyone's attention. You can get a good idea of the songwriting craft, hook + beats smashed together in this tasty lil 50 second clip:
Preview
Judging how things went with the last Liberate sampler, this one will probably be out soon as a single with some extensive remix action.
