Rose Rouge is a stone cold classic. No question. Iconic drums, iconic piano, iconic Marlena Shaw vocal sample. We know this.
But maybe, like me, you’ve always thought of it as a sunset record. A Café del Mar kind of number. It certainly does that job.
Recently though, I was at Giant Steps listening to a vinyl set by DJ Sotofett when he dropped it. And let me tell you, it absolutely went off.
Streaming the track, the horn section can blur into a single layer. But hearing the track on the incredible Giant Steps soundsystem pulled them apart in the most incredible way. The two horns trading blows at 3:50 section (trumpet played by Pascal Ohsé and tenor sax played by Edouard Labor) sounded nothing short of sensational.
Do yourself a favour: if you ever get the chance to hear Rose Rouge on a proper soundsystem, take it. You might discover that one of the definitive chill-out records of the 2000s is also a devastating club track.
HARRY'S MUSICAL EMPORIUM 