There are few strains of dance music currently less fashionable than ‘downtempo’, dance aficionados choosing harsher, ’80s-influenced sounds over the warm allure of bedtime beats and breaks. A Special Album is a good indication of where things have gone wrong. The anonymous nature of Erlend “Ralph Myerz” Sellevold’s music is made worse by the fact that the musicians he utilises are obviously talented but sorely let down by the ‘car ad’ nature of their surroundings. Whispered female vocals, jazz organ and moody shuffles abound, but it’s all too tasteful to provoke much more than a shrug.
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