From the first bassline, one can immediately discern that they are in for a seductive sonic treat compliments of Madison Park. The Atlanta duo consists of James & Deanna Cool, who are married both musically & matrimonially. Work began on Boutique after James & Deanna were introduced by mutual friends, but the album’s release was withheld due to the launching of their own imprint, Basiclux Records, which is responsible for the fabulous New Sound Theory compilations. Fellow labelmates such as Bryan Ogden, Soulrider, GrooveOholics, and Lenny Bertoldo make appearances throughout “Boutique” and mold their respective collaborations into quality contributions.
Musically, Madison Park falls somewhere between the sexy, alluring deepness of NYC’s premiere house label, Naked Music, with a the pop sensibilities of Kylie Minogue, Everything But The Girl, and the similarly named Madison Avenue. It is fairly obvious that Deanna has ingested a hearty diet of Madonna throughout her musical journey because Madge’s vocal influence is apparent in every song. Deanna’s style is also reminiscent of an Australian-born one-hit wonder from 1996- Merril Bainbridge. (Anyone remember her?) Sweet, downtempo dreaminess is showcased on tracks like “Sense & Sensibility”, “Who’s Got The Time?”, “Walking Down The Street”, and “Opus One.” Energy is quickly pumped into tracks such as “Free” and “My Personal Moon” thanks to a funky disco house remix from Lenny Bertoldo. Other than a few intonation problems, Deanna’s powerful performance makes the songs soar alongside James’ tight production..
A remix CD is also available from Basiclux Records featuring dancefloor-ready remixes of one of the album’s standout tracks, “My Personal Moon.” No matter what your style du jour, all musical bases are covered with this EP. Lenny B delivers the funky, disco house mixes, while GrooveOholics keep things considerably deeper. The Source turn out a huge, throbbing, trance-tastic version that is sure to keep those hands in the air & the glowsticks twirling, while other quality mixes are delivered by Junkyard, Erb, Paul T, and New Sound Theory..
