The first LP in nearly 25 years from Chicago house music pioneer Larry Heard under his Mr. Fingers alias, Cerebral Hemispheres clocks in at around 100 minutes over 18 tracks that perfectly embody the free flowing approach that Heard has consistently applied to his music throughout his long and illustrious career. There’s a definite sense of left brain/right brain in the construction of this record that pitches the jazz-fusion of ‘Urbane Sunset’ alongside the electronic body funk of
‘Inner Acid’ and the soulful vocal moments of Stratusfly featuring Paul St. Hilaire alongside Praise to The Vibes, the albums closing track, that is as good an example of Heard’s brand of positivity as we’ve heard in some time. For an artist to whom electronic music owes such a huge debt to come out with a record on this scale, at this stage of his career (which he voluntarily brought to a premature end a few years back), is testament to just how important, (if oftentimes overlooked) a player Larry Heard has been in this thing we call house.
Where to start:
‘Electron’ – big synthy number that sets the tone for the second half of the album.
‘Stratusfly’ – wonderful vox courtesy of Paul St Hilaire.
‘Qwazars’ – dropping deeper than deep.
Previous from Mr. Fingers:
Mr. Fingers – Can U Feel It (Trax)
Larry Heard presents Mr. White – The Sun Don’t Compare (Alleviated Music)
If you like this then check out:
Moodymann – Black Mahogani (Peacefrog)
Terrence Parker – Motor City Life (Goldmin Music)
Mr. Fingers’ Cerebral Hemisphere LP is out now on Alleviated Music.