Dan Berkson

Anything for You Dan Berkson

Crosstown Rebels welcome Dan Berkson back into the fold with a solo offering that is a superb double header of dubby electronic house and stripped back moody funk that is is as another feather in the Crosstown cap. Both tracks here have an entrancing quality owing to the warm organic instrumentals and sultry vocal snippets that ebb and flow against the melodic soundscapes – beats are expertly chopped and rearranged and scores of strings and keys stretch out into infinity to create a raw emotive sound. ‘Anything For You’ is full of Detroit inspired synths – a nod to house heritage but with a modern twist, Berkson delivers a highly sensory ride. The soulful yearning of the vocal carries softly over the tide of the track whilst deep acid inflections bleed into jazzy instrumentals. B-side ‘Secrets’ has got more edge with a pulsing bassline and dubby textures throughout. The looped track works to hypnotic effect as Berkson teases out the hazy dubbed-out vocal and lets jazzy organ notes drift through echoes of hushed voices tempering the shades of ghostly dark. Originally a keyboard player, Dan Berkson was playing six nights a week in his hometown of Chicago by the age of 16. Immersed in the worlds of jazz, funk and soul during his time at the New England Conservatory of Music, Dan co-founded a couple of funk bands that took off in the Boston area but a growing passion for house music led to a relocation to London to study production and pursue a solo career. In the UK’s forward thinking music scene Dan thrived as an electronic artist and began to release records on labels such as Simple, Crosstown Rebels, Mood Music, Hypercolour, Movim, Exun, Gourmet Recordings. Also famed for his part in live performance duo Berkson & What (with James What), Dan is one of those understated figures on the scene that has been evolving and exciting the underground for nearly a decade. contribute to the album. Jonny White’s blindingly fast-growing discography and revered No.