Aaron-Carl

Detroit's reputation for techno licks as the dominant dance style of quality fades in the wake of Aaron Carl's Princely Euro-flushed house. Carl's first LP, Storm, led to him signing with Submerge crew figurehead "Mad" Mike Banks' Soul City label. Wash It and Crucified were put out and received good response -- unexpectedly right in his hometown. DJ Gary Chandler, known for his straight-ahead R&B and hip-hop flavor, played the cheeky Wash It on local radio and at his personal parties. Make Me Happy and a remix project with Theresa Stringer as well as an EP, Midnite Jams, Vol. 1, followed. Down was the B-side to Wash It, and the record showed the deep influence of the Artist in his falsetto and gasping sexual come-ons. My House came out in 1999, and was remixed ten times and made it to number 36 on Billboard's Hot Dance Music/Club Play charts. Minneapolis flavors from Andre Cymone were revealed on Dance Naked, a pounding prance tune directed by a chant and instructions for radical humanism through dance. Uncloseted came out in 2002, and it brought all of Carl's directions into fluid fruition. Pop, electro, R&B, techno, house, and funk all came out on the autobiographical disc that demanded respect for homosexuals, grieved, and wanted a good party. The beats could be thick like hip-hop's jeep bangers and thin out into techno patterns. Some moments commanded sparkling drama inside fog machine bursts and confrontation. Sexy funk also unfolded on the 16-song player that even took time to go the way of ballad singing, made more interesting by Carl's genderless falsetto. But the bottom line is that the album showed maturity and accessible cohesion by the consistent molding of actual songs fertile with infectious lyrics. And despite the power of his versatility, he still gives...