Harold Heath's debut album HOLE FUNK was released at the end of 2006:
iDJ Magazine: "...this is one immaculate debut." 5/5
M8 Magazine: “A great listen… with a spine of funk that should make you ditch the armchair at random moments and bop about your front room.” 6/8
DJ Magazine: "...His debut album really does feature the whole funking spectrum of his talent and influences. ‘Hole Funk’ does two things; it makes you want to dance and it makes you want to sit down and listen all at the same time."
365 Mag.com: "...every track is beautifully put together. There’s not a moment on this album where even the most stalwart booty won’t be shaking."
Listen to the Album:www.urbantorque.com
Buy the Abum:Hole Funk
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iDJ Magazine November 2006
Harold Heath - Hole Funk
Urbantorque (UK) UTCD01
"I promise the funk, the whole funk, nothing but the funk," the vocal proudly declares on Harold's aptly titled opener 'Hole Funk', and by jove they're right! This isn't a small slice of funk, nor is it a wee peak into certain realms of funk: it's funk in its entirety. From street-skulking hip-house ('Be My Friend') to old skool Hammond-led, wukka wukka guitar-fuelled jams ('Food For A Fat Pig'), via spacey breakbeat ('Another Sky') and sexy, smooth deep house ('Feel The Love') this album simply oozes infectious grooves. Mind you, this should come as no suprised to any Harold Heath fan - his history as a DJ goes back to the rare groove days and no matter how dirty or jacking his house beats on labels such as Oblong, Reverberations, Sensei and of course, Urbantorque, there's always an epic booty-shake factor to wrap your ears around. Transferring such studio skills to a full length album isn't always easy, but Harold's executed it perfectly by balancing the club-centric with the blissful downtempo. From the orgasmic journey into space that is "Toshiro" to the album's electro-funk-meets-Orbital finale "Lino Burns", this is one immacualte debut. Recomended Album, 5/5
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M8 Magazine November 2006
A really unusual album this. Harold has gone about assembling a collection of completely different musical ideas and rolled them up into a great listen; probably more at-home in nature, but with a spine of funk that should make you ditch the armchair at random moments and bop about your front room. As he goes about genre-busting at will, it becomes clear that deep house, acid and 70’s funk have played a big part in forming his tastes – tracks like ‘Food For A Fat Pig’ and ‘Hole Funk’ itself are laid-back portions of vintage-sounding funk, while ‘Giftwrap’, ‘Party Never Stops’ and ‘Feel The Love’ (in particular) have that lovely dreamy/hypnotic groove about them that sometimes only quality deep house can provide; chilled and infectiously finger-clicking at the same time. There are acidy inflexions throughout, which is no bad thing of course, and he even manages to add that little bit of squelch to the bouncy hip-house of ‘Be My friend’ and ‘Another Sky’s heavier, techy breakbeats.
Diversity like this is great, though I reckon a full-blown, focused deep house project could really elevate him to superstardom.
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DJ Magazine November 2006
It’s not hard to see that Harold Heath began his career in music as a rare groove DJ, such is the passion and soul poured into his productions. It’s the kind of ability only gained from raw experience, not something you can make up on the spot. But spinning rare groove was only the beginning for Harold, and his style went through hip-hop, acid house, electro and the ‘Hole Funk’.
His debut album really does feature the whole funking spectrum of his talent and influences. ‘Hole Funk’ does two things; it makes you want to dance and it makes you want to sit down and listen all at the same time.
4 ½ / 5
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One Week To Live Magazine November 20th 2006
Dance producers generally approach albums in one of three ways. They play to the crowd with 12 loosely related versions of their biggest hit(s), or they take the “kitchen sink” approach and throw in a bit of whatever the hell they like. A third (much smaller) group of producers creates something which transcends the limitations of genre or sell-by date, offering us a sliver of ageless perfection – ‘Leftism’ for example. The first surprise on ‘Hole Funk’ is that Heath’s work doesn’t fall exactly into any of these categories. He’s made his name as a gifted peddler of house, but this is far from being a straight up house record. So, is it one of those rare, sublime, flawless beauties? Not quite. But it certainly works harder does more to command your interest than most. The title track is a wonderfully distracting electro-funk workout, as is the slightly slower tempo but still vintage sounding ‘Food For A Fat Pig’. Heath started his career as a rare groove DJ and has a penchant for sampling the likes of Aretha Franklin, so it’s not unprecedented. What makes this standout is how confident it sounds. Anyone can grab a fistful of samples and take a copy of Logic to them, but usually when they do it, it shows. Here, there’s no suggestion of eclecticism for its own sake – everything is thought through and delivered with style and confidence. There are more traditional house numbers – like the slightly acid-y ‘Giftwrap’ and the swirly nu-disco tinged cut ‘Party Never Stops’ which is a proper peaktime tune that sounds just as assured as the bouncing electro hip hop of ‘Be My Friend’. Heath scoots all over the shop and pulls it off nicely. It’s more a collection of singles than a cohesive album but they’re a fine bunch of tunes.
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365 Mag.com November 2006
Harold Heath is probably best described as the underdog of EDM producers today. With a lineup of grooves on Freaked, Sensei and Sensei Ltd, and Bushwacka’s! exclusive Oblong label, Heath is most certainly a producer on the make, though his success from tracks such as Long Relationship and Midnight Sunshine doesn’t seem to faze him in production standards. Never one to be considered “average” by any means, Heath has, to use the famous Sasha quote, “always steered a bit left”-and Hole Funk, his initiation into full-on albums, is anything but commercially typical.
By all standards, there’s not many DJ-friendly albums out there that you can simply buy off the shelf and take directly to the club-and Hole Funk is one of those select few. Starting on an Isaac Hayes note, the title track begins on a slow, funky 70’s beat, with Rhodes galore, and vocals promising “the whole funk”-which is delivered completely and thoroughly throughout the album. Messages From The Future gives a nod to the days of Paradise Garage with true early house style, while Giftwrap takes you on a faster, deeper groove.
Your Love quickens the pace with a bit of proper house that has some wonderfully arranged synths and a deep, rhythmic bass that holds together quite well. Toshiro evokes thoughts on Thievery Corporations’ blissfully deep handiwork, while Party Never Stops-a track that would’ve been huge had it been around the time of Renaissance-whirls you around in a plethora of deep, funky house. Feel The Love seems to be a salute to Blue Six and the early days of Om, while Lino Burns ends the album on a tech-driven note that Orbital would’ve been proud of.
After quite a few listens, I wouldn’t be hard-pressed to say that every track in this album is beautifully put together. There’s not a moment on this album where even the most stalwart booty won’t be shaking. (Take THAT Dom Phillips!) With some subtle (and some not-so-subtle) influences from when dance music was in its infancy, each track has been twisted around in a way that makes it seem modern and fresh, and today’s house fans will certainly be appreciative of Heath’s efforts here. With the support of big wigs like Laurent Garnier, Ashley Beedle and Pete Tong, Harold Heath seems poised to take on the world, one funky beat at a time. 8 ½ / 10
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