HORACE X
Strategy
(Omnium)
When last we left the U.K. ensemble Horace X, it was redefining dance music along its own multicultural lines. Latin, African, Jamaican, Asian, Arabian and Celtic folk strains run through its funky butt, now as much as then. The difference between Strategy and the previous album Sackbutt is that the electronic elements have moved to the fore. Fiddler Hazel Fairbairn and woodwind master Pete Newman still lead the melodic charge, but the beats and grooves wrap themselves around programmed rhythms, instead of the other way around. That's of little overt consequence, but it does give the songs a more streamlined, unified feel. For me, that leads to a bit more homogeneity than I'd like, but it won't make any damn difference to anyone wiggling a rump on the dance floor. Michael Toland