keeping up the urgent pace set by the strength in numbers collection, thema now turns to a modern master of the jakbeat, d’marc cantu. hailing from ann arbor on the fringes of detroit, cantu has worked for more than a decade developing a sound that carries the torch from the box jam originators of techno and house music. his first appearances were alongside the mighty tadd mullinix (better known as james t. cotton) with their 2 am/fm project, before bringing traxx into the fold for the x2 venture. as a solo artist cantu has shored up on labels as highly regarded as crème organization, m>o>s, nation and desire, bringing a rich, full-bodied sound laden with powerful synth hooks, crafty drum programming and a live, jammed-out delivery that overflows with imagination. given his adventurous tendencies and punchy midwestern finish, cantu is a perfect fit on thema and the six tracks that make up this record show a great deal of the diversity the man is capable of, from dancefloor burners to atmospheric introspections.
