Uschi Classen may not be a household name but if you're one of the people who always have a closer look at the album infos you might know Uschi from her work with Ashley Beedle's Black Science Orchestra, Delta House Of Funk or the Ballistic Brothers. She also worked with Phil Asher or Crispin J Glover and did some remix work for the likes of Jersey Street, Jodeci and Lewis Taylor.
Uschi wrote, played and produced Soul Magic on her own and she included some fine singers on her songs like Dee Ellington, Eska, Kimra and Robert Owens. So it's no surprise that the vocal songs like the Dee Ellington sung Soul Magic, Wise Words (which makes clever use of Bill Withers' Use Me) or Fire (unfortunately with some rapping by Wildflower...well, I'm just not the greatest fan of spoiling a song by some rapping) are pleasant and soulful. Dizzy Heights and Home are sung by Eska Mtungwazi, who also sung some songs on the New Sector Movement's Download This album from 2001, and these songs wouldn't have been out of place on the afore-mentioned album.
Uschi's music style on this album is a mixture between soul and jazz done sometimes in a similar way like Phil Asher (Restless Soul), Nathan Haines or I.G. Culture (aka New Sector Movement) do. Just listen to Now Illuminate or Mediative Flow (both featuring Kimra on vocals).
There are also two nice instrumentals: She and The Path (the latter with some crazy saxophone by Carlos Fuentes). And not to forget there's Only In Your Eyes, a ballad sung by Robert Owens.
Very interesting what our classically trained pianist Uschi has recorded here.