Rock Dust Light Star

Jayson Kay kept us waiting long

You had to wait for the new Jamiroquai record, and wait for quite a while. Was it worth all the nerves and patience of the dance music legend’s fans? Sure, it was. Now that the fresh work, Rock Dust Light Star, is available, we can see it for ourselves that these guys once again did exactly what they were expected to do. Yes, it has been five years since the previous album, Dynamite, was released, but doesn’t it make the new release even more desired? The glorious band’s number eight, it features twelve polished, well-thought-through and virtuously executed tracks consisting of the true hit part and just good music part. The London-based ensemble keeps following their course offering a smashing combination of light rock, jazz and electronic adding some flavors that they keep in secret all along. In the meantime, Jamiroquai remains an ever-changing group of enthusiasts led by Jayson, This is what they have always been and what they are going to be, which is certainly very nice.

Same style recorded differently

Jamiroquai (that is Jayson Kay, of course) could have released long player number eight not in five, but, say, in two years, if they had desired to make another Dynamite. Yet the musicians wanted something new, and, sticking to the same style, they changed the recording approach. Rock Dust Light Star is, arguably, the band’s most ‘live’ record so far, featuring Jamiroquai as, indeed, an ensemble. The new songs from this British outfit are what they did in studio working together at the same time, allowing for minimum programming. What do we have then? In fact, we have a concert record with a chamber performance sound. The most remarkable bits of this work are those which remind us of the band’s recent and glorious past. Light and energetic, White Knuckle Ride, She’s A Fast Persuader send you straight to dance euphoria, which is exactly what we expect from music like that. The slower stuff includes the title Rock Dust Light Star, and Blue Skies, some of the album’s highlights. Experiments involving more rock-oriented material (Hurtin’), and country-based stuff (Never Gonna Be Another) seems slightly out of place here. After all, Jamiroquai are at their best when they do dance music built strong on the concrete of jazz and funk.

Easily recognizable music from a favorite performer

Jamiroquai started their glorious music journey early in the nineties and for almost twenty years of their hard and fruitful labor they turned in the genre’s icons. What helps them remain on the top for so long? Why do the majority of ensembles and solo performers have to adjust their products to the realities of the constantly changing music market, follow the demands of the renewing, forever young audience while these musicians remain loyal to their roots and stay popular? If the answer was so easy to find, the Jamiroquai music could lose its enchantment easily. Maybe, the key to their success is that the band simply don’t know how to and don’t want to play anything different. The lineup goes through endless substitutions, but the reigns here have always belonged and still do to Jayson Kay, who knows better than anybody does what his band needs to play. The Rock Dust Light Star album once again stated that Jamiroquai have only one course to follow, the one they chose long ago. The beauty of this record is that its material is so familiar to us and features all the tricks this unique ensemble is know for. Jamiroquai will remain strong and as long as they preserve this stability and style.