Single review: Leave a Light On

The man behind Sola Rosa, Auckland’s Andrew Spraggon, has returned with a tune as strong as anything he’s released previously.

A steady bass groove wends its way around a thumping kick drum which is off-set by an excellently syncopated high hat, perfectly timed between kick and snare, to be on the ‘and’ of the phrase.

The bass keyboard is on the ‘one’ beat and high keys are on the three, adding to layers of syncopation.

This groove is so fat it could make a sumo look like the skinny kid in class.

Sola Rosa has been a mostly solo project for Andrew Spraggon since 1999, and on this tune he’s partying like it is Sola Rosa’s inception year.

Kevin Mark Trail, of UK band The Streets, adds a high soul tenor which soars over the sequences as the lead vocals, and which is beautifully accompanied be Kiwi powerhouse singer, LA Mitchell.

Best known for making seriously funky electronic music, Andrew Spraggon has been refining the Sola Rosa sound for two decades. Leave a Light On was recorded in Spraggon’s well kitted out home studio and is the first single from the forthcoming release called In Spaces.

Guitars include a beautifully fuzzed out lead melody and are provided by Matt Short and Dixon Nacey.

★★★★ (4 stars)

_{Review written by Darryl Baser}