Sophomore studio album from Brighton’s Leon Vynehall. Rojus (Designed To Dance) sees Vynehall return to Gerd Janson’s Running Back after the ambient of 2015’s “Midnight On Rainbow Road.” The album opens with what feels like a continuation of that track’s effervescence before settling into some straight up house. Vynehall’s dance music is an intimate affair with the smallest of vocal snippets begging to whisper in your ear. The female vocals of “Beau Sovereign” let you know that “Your love / is what I want / is what I need” while the strings fill things out over a thumping kick drum. The drums are delivered with just right amount of swing throughout the record. At times it’s just a simple kick and snare combo, but there are two step inspired moments as well. Rojus is the Lithuanian word for “paradise” and Vynehall has said that a National Geographic documentary on the mating rituals of birds of paradise led him to draw parallels with the animals and club dancers. Bird sounds are used liberally on a handful of the tracks, further tying it all together. This is especially true of “Kiburu’s,” a weighty house cut that pulls in all of the elements Vynehall uses on the album. It’s a fitting peak to an album as expansive as Rojus. Eight tracks in all. Released by Running Back on double vinyl housed in a gatefold sleeve.

• double vinyl pressing
• gatefold sleeve
• music label: Running Back 2016

reviewed by man from Zanzibar 05/2016