Ringgo Ancheta’s »Overture« on »Body Wash« reminds us of Steve Miller’s »Space Intro« for his record »Fly Like An Eagle« from 1976. Other keyboard-sounds come across like Stevie Wonder’s synth-experiments from the seventies or George Duke’s Disco-phase. The artist himself points to 80s boogie-jazz-funk or 90s r’n’b when describing his music’s inspiration. The New Jersey bedroom-producer spreads a hot and humid atmosphere between soul, funk and disco with dragging slow-motion grooves and a relaxed slap-bass, but he also has a weakness for jazzy trumpets and e-pianos as well as psychedelic moods. »Body Wash« is a concept album about a homeless person who experiences wondrous adventures in a different dimension after having fallen into a mind-expanding bubble bath – and who also symbolically stands for Ancheta’s very own work of self-discovery. His introverted vocals sound just as considerate, always a little dreamy, blurred and scattered. They are more directed at himself than at a possible listener, never foregrounded and always edited through discreet effects. In comparison to the previous »Yawn Zen«, the songwriting is more elaborate, and still, there is enough room for sound experiments and many short (yet very atmospheric) tracks. They appear like sketches or interludes and keep the record continuously exciting.
Body Wash
