Lewis McCallum’s background is rooted in jazz but it’s his love of beats that make his records stand out. His latest release, “Syntheology” is no exception. Lewis’s synth flavored compositions on this disc are more progressive than on his debut “Wake”. As a result the groove is a little edgier but the vocals are still satisfying and the instrumentals are very funky. Speaking of vocalists, let’s start with Deva Mahal, who blesses the modern funky “Take A Step Back”. “Tales of Mingus” is a wicked instrumental that displays Lewis’s wizardry at beat programming. The track “New Someone feat Tama Walpara” is a high energy soulful house track that would feel right at home in a club. “Deviate” feat. Cherie Mathieson is a clearly one of the strongest tracks here. This is a great example of funky instrumentation and smoothing vocals merging together. There are many records rely solely on digital programming yet “Syntheology” still maintains a soulful quality, largely because the vocalists on board. Lewis is already well known in his native New Zealand but he is certain to build a bigger audience with this impressive effort.
