Viveen – Four To The Floor (EP Review)

If you’re hip to the history of electronic dance music and the history of Black music itself, your neurons will definitely light up when we talk about a specific type of vocalist they used to use in those old Europop songs, often with a punchy and robotic bassline. As someone who makes electronic music AND are aware of such cultural leanings, listening to these songs from the 90s seemed like the logical step after listening to Kraftwerk, chronologically. These songs tend to exude a sense of robotic technicality, pushing the boundaries of music from the technological boom of the 80s itself.

All of these songs had a structural aim in common- the hypertechnical backing track, a rap sequence, but lastly, a soulful woman’s voice was always needed. It didn’t matter how cold the song sounded. The prowess of a soulful vocalist was always needed to humanize the track, provide it with a singable punch for the masses to recite and relate to, but to my ears, also provide the song with an extra oomph of strength.

Meet Viveen, someone who has contributed to this world of music, back with a vengeance to express her artistry in a modern twist. She was formerly with N-Trance being the lead vocalist of the group, selling over 5 million records across Europe, scoring 4 UK top ten hits and 12 UK top 40 entries with songs such as Turn Up The Power and Paradise City. She went on to leave the group to join the new incarnation of Drizabone- Driza, providing vocals, songwriting, as well as vocal production on their 2000 release titled ‘Vision’.

As a solo artist, she has been featured on various Ministry of Sound projects, such as ‘Don’t Look Back’ which reached number 5 in the UK. However, disputes arose as she was never credited properly for her contributions to the track, such as the vocals and the melody. The song was released and credited to ‘ATFC and Ghostcopy’– and she was never blatantly mentioned in the track. This dispute has only been semi-settled since. Not to digress, but this was and is a huge problem in the EDM community, where people often discredit vocalist’s works and refuse to credit them. Or, even more heinously, they used to use a different person in the music videos to lipsync to the actual vocalist’s voice, further discrediting the effort of the original vocalist.

However, she managed to come back with full force, performing lead vocals on LMC’s version of Stevie Wonder’s song: LMC – I Don’t Know Why I Love You (Official Lyric Video). Viveen has also had many other notable collaborations and input to this music industry, including providing background vocals for Tom Jones and Lionel Richie.

In a glorious continuation of her artistry, she returns with an EP titled ‘Four to the Floor’. It was put together with the expertise of many interesting people. One of which includes Alan Glass, who has written music for Earth Wind & Fire, George Benson as well as Maxi Priest. Greg Stainer also has a hand in the album, being the songwriter and producer for Hollaphonic, a group that has performed and opened for Armin van Buuren and Deadmau5. Rob Yeo contributes his expertise as a versatile producer, having a passion for 80s synth wave music and having collaborated with the legendary Shalamar. Lastly, Richard Bignall contributes to the album with his expertise gained from working as the Pro Tools Engineer on Jamiroquai‘s albums.

Four to the Floor has also garnered praise from very distinct and legendary people, such as Deniece Williams, Kathy Sledge of the Sledge Sisters, and Jeffrey Daniel of Shalamar. Let’s check the album out.

Upon listening to this EP, it is honestly quite interesting and amazing. It sounds like a modern re-interpretation of the culmination of disco, rhythm and blues, soul as well as house music mixed into one. It is extremely energetic, filled with vibrance in each and every track. You will definitely not be left feeling down when you listen to any of these tracks. The chords used in the backbone of each track definitely shows a very mature and delicate understanding of chord progressions, one thing in music that I genuinely do not see from other musicians these days. The only way you’ll hear a delectable chord progression is either through South African house/amapiano or jazz music itself.

There is definitely a sort of ‘time-period’ fusion going on with the composition of the songs itself, with the ‘four on the floor’ beat definitely apparent in the cadence- well, the title of the EP itself is a nod to the phrase too. The time signature doesn’t necessarily deviate, but I don’t think that’s the aim of the work. The artistic intent of the album is pretty direct and apparent. I especially appreciate the fact that various elements of disco music such as the strings and the background vocal arrangement retain their organic quality, all with the infusion of ‘technologically forward’ synth presets in the midst of the instruments.

I’d say the vocal AND instrumental arrangement is definitely spectacular. The bridges and pre-chorus within all the songs on the album do follow a very typically-House-like production, with the saturation and the peaks and the lows. It almost has the vibe of 2008 house music to it. The vocals speak out multi-dimensionality, with Viveen’s distinct voice certainly striking the listener and the background vocals supporting her like a wonderful mirage.

My only critique of this EP is the production. The production is not bad at all, all of the instruments are well-mastered and nothing necessarily feels murky, but it actually does lack a little bit of ‘noise’ and saturation to give the EP a bit of soul and mystique to it. Think of the way the ‘space’ sounds in the track ‘Give me the Night’ by George Benson of ‘Bula Boot’ by Thebe. Within this genre, if you do not want it to sound overtly commercial with all of these neo-soul and neo-disco revivals, you have to reproduce the ‘warmth’ of the original takes within the genre’.

Otherwise, there is no real issue with the release at all. The basslines pump extravagantly, not in a staccato fashion like Europop tracks, but enough to provide each song with a strong backing. These are elements of synth wave and 80s pop within these songs as well, giving the listener a bit of musical variability instead of being sucked into a homogenous experience of merely disco-inspired songs.

The last track of the album, a remix of another song on the EP itself acts as a tribute itself to Viveen’s credited origins, bearing an early house sound with the electric organ mixed with elements of breakbeat. This song I’d say has the element of ‘noise’ I’m looking for with the other tracks. There’s a slight murkyness mixed into the track amidst the drops, swing and the filters put into the actual synths- and that gives it a VERY warm feel. Warmth mixed with electronic music is just the perfect formula. It actually sounds like as if it was released in the past. A lot of House artists these days try to achieve the feel of that sound but it just doesn’t match. The producer definitely ‘cooked’ with this one.

Overall, a wonderful album. Give Viveen her flowers and more, for her wonderful contributions to the world of music.

Score/Excellent: ‘Four to the Floor’ is an exciting EP that takes you back to the world of the ‘four to floor’ beat itself all while infusing aspects of modernism and neomodernist music movements. It’s filled with energy, sass, appealing chord structures, amazing arrangements, and powerhouse vocals that no one should ignore. I definitely recommend this EP.

[We rank singles, EPs, and albums on a scale of Poor, Mediocre, Good, Excellent, and Outstanding]

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