Para:Diso is a side project for Jean Paul 'Bluey' Maunick of Incognito fame and his son Daniel Maunick aka DJ Venom. Originally released in Japan, Paradise || Paranoia is now also available in Europe thanks to Dome Records in the UK.
The vibe of this record is somehow different from what one might associate with Incognito, although it's not very different from the general aproach, i.e., making quality music. If you know some of the remixes, that were done of various Incognito tracks to widen their dancefloor and club appeal, you have an impression, where Para:Diso wants to take you.
Being a fan of vocals I especially can recommend the vocal tracks here. Waiting 4 The Sun 2 Shine fits perfectly into this rainy and cloudy February over here in Germany because that's just what I long for. Sung by Valerie Etienne this is a great piece of broken beat/West London inspired soul you also may find on an I.G. Culture or Phil Asher record.
Right Is Right is sung lasciviously by Niki King over a fine jazz-inspired downtempo track and another reason to get this album.
The third great vocal track features Tommy Blaize as vocalist. Let Yourself Go just oozes soul and class and it has all the right ingredients to become a future classic.
Of the instrumental tracks I like to draw your attention to Eden, a Brazilian-flavoured dancesong with flute played by Chris Demargary and some scatting by Bluey himself. In some ways Eden is reminiscent of a better Masters At Work production.
Snowblind is a fine downtempo piece of lounge-like electro, whilst Vanishing Point has an interesting darker electro-jazz feeling to it. Sweet Rain is another good uptempo instrumental again with a (uncredited) flute. The rest of the songs on offer are nice, but a little too eclectic for my personal taste since I'm still a sucker for a song with vocals as mentioned above.
But on the whole Paradise || Paranoia is really a pleasant surprise that shows Bluey's and his son's musical variety and moreover a must have just for the three vocal cuts alone.