It has been a couple years since I interview singer and songwriter Shelley Harland. Here, we look at her latest album Sinking Shade and sample a few tracks from her collaboration with Duke Mushroom under the human ii human guise. Superb triphop, house, chillout and even jungle elements combine to create a collection of tracks fit for any venue. She has worked with artists like Delerium, Rio Klein, Josh Ryan, Ferry Corsten, Junkie XL, Pole Folder, DJ Rap, J-punch, and Josh Abraham and has a voice to die for...

Perhaps a surprise to some, but I come back to write a couple of reviews before I drift back into oblivion and my work life dominates my entire day.

It has been just over two years since I interviewed singer and songwriter Shelley Harland and at the time, although I probably did not mention it in my interview writeup, she was definitely the self labelled "kick ass chick producer" to look out for in the coming years. Her latest offering may be perhaps a little more abstract than most of the music reviewed on i:Vibes, but none less worthy of reading into. Coming in the form of Sinking Shade an album which I can only generalise as a cross between Mandalay, Massive Attack with a touch of Goldfrapp, this collection of refreshing tracks crosses into triphop and 3am chillout with an infusion of 4/4 beats and jungle/drum'n'bass inspirations.

Shelley completely composed, wrote, and recorded the album entirely by herself back in 2000, shortly after creating her first album, "Phoelar," with Andrew Wright. Her career has been gathering tempo since then she was signed to a publishing deal, collaborated as a highly sought after guest vocalist with seminal electronic artists Delerium, Rio Klein, Josh Ryan, Ferry Corsten, Junkie Xl, Pole Folder, DJ Rap, J-punch, and Josh Abraham, has toured theatres in Canada and America as a lead vocalist for Delerium, and has played her first solo live shows in New York.

A second offering performed under "human ii human", a collaborative guise between Harland and Duke Mushroom, a multi-talented producer, songwriter, percussionist, keyboardist, performer, engineer and mix engineer is also looked at today.

Duke Mushroom's professional career started while he was living in a loft in Detroit with Kevin Saunderson, Derrik May, and Juan Atkins. He’s made records for KMS back in the day, and eventually became the Drummer and musical Director of Kevin's "INNER CITY" touring band. Duke was one half of the powerhouse production duo POPROX, and has released three of his own percussion-driven electronica albums. His remix work includes The Sounds, Bob Marley, Method Man, Damian, Montell Jordan, DMX, and Sisco among others. He has penned over 100 songs from "Happy People," with the Static Revenger, to "Love Makes the World," with Carole King, to "Move it Like This," from the Baha Men. He’s also written songs with Donna Summer, Joss Stone, Pete Lorimer, Cyndi Lauper and Paul Williams. He’s provided percussion on over 50 records, working with Nelly Fertado, Janet Jackson, Tony Moran, Gloria Estefan, Erick Morillo, Roger S, and Masters at Work to name a few. Having been one of the 8 original US cast members of the show “Stomp,” he performed over 850 shows including performances on Late Show with David Letterman, The Tonight Show, and The Grammys.

Harland - Sinking Shade

1. Masquerade
2. Heart Shaped Pulse
3. Angel Heart
4. A Child's Mind
5. A Perfect Stranger
6. Sweetheart
7. Sinking Shade
8. Fly
9. Precious
10. Stylus
11. Incomplete
12. Milky Way Girl
13. Heaven
14. Disappear
15. Last Goodbye

Haunting, mesmerizing and trippy is what Masquerade and Angel Heart are all about. The first and third tracks of Sinking Shade prompt memories of a dark trip-hop Massive Attack infused with a touch of subtle melancholic tantrum. This is balanced with Harland's enchanting vocals to start off an after clubbing chillout session at around 5am, just before the sun rises when you are in that "don't really want to think about anything and just chilling out" mode. We move into my favourite track of the album, Heart Shaped Pulse, a 4/4 based breakbeat influenced vocal beauty with just the right amount of piano elements. It may be because I am a sucker for vocal breakbeat triphop, but this is just the right track for just about any time of the day in any arena.. For those thinking this is a little on the "light" side, picture a Hybrid or Way Out West Remix on a 3-track LP.

A Child's Mind goes into experimental territory with some jazzy influences, chimes, stabs and a few other instruments thrown in, and maybe the title carries some psychological impact but I really can imagine that the track relates to the mindset of a child. Not to imply that its a badly done track but I thought long and hard as to how to describe this in more explicit words rather than wavering thoughts to little avail - innocent? dreamy? The image which stuck to me was the toy which a lot of babies have dangling above their crib which rotates around and around with lights and chimes/music emanating.

The next three tracks come across with some more of the dark temperamental sounds teetering on border of uplifting but stops short and pushes you back down into a dark alley where the unseen maintain a watchful eye.. just as you think the music is about to pop up above the clouds into a clear blue sky. Think Craig Armstrong with less of the film score feeling, especially for A Perfect Stranger and Sweetheart. Although the aforementioend tracks and Sinking Shade are compared with similar verbeage, Sinking Shade is much different than the preceeding tracks. Jungle and Drum'n'bass on a high is as close to a short description as I can pull together - and although one of my least favourites of the album, the sound does stick with its catchy beat and Harland's vocals.

Fly, a co-production with Jamie Myerson starts of sitting in heavy trip hop territory with hints of a spanish guitars clanging in the background to keep things getting too dark, but forces a lighter mood when the main vocal sequence finds it way at around the two minute mark. From then on, the track becomes a beautiful, uplifting track which also ranks as one of my favourites in the album. A similar, but in a seemingly more ghostly, desolate form are Precious, Stylus and Incomplete which are haunting - enchantingly haunting (if such a contradiction existed), and reminded me of a rainy night looking out the window of a high-rise building at the lights below.

At this point, my thoughts on this album become suddenly much clearer. Although I still had half a dozen tracks to go, the build up in each track starts with sublime, cautious, and perhaps even unsettling trippy vibes, but before you know it - the essence of Harland's vocals carry the track to more happier places and away from the typically darker triphop sounds. Although the exception to that may be Incomplete, a maintains its chilling mood throughout the entire track and keeps your mind fixated on the the branches and leaves jostling wind and rain in the distance below as you stand by that window.

Milky Way Girl, Harland's most explicit move to call upon jungle influences in the album. Admittedly, my tolerance for drum'n'bass and jungle is rather low - actually, low enough for me to be able to say that I don't like the genres, and this track doesn't quite work for me. Too much going on for me to really appreciate the track, so I moved on... Perhaps those who care more for the genre will find the track more appealing than me.

On the opposite spectrum, well produced piano based tracks really catch my attention. Why? Perhaps it is because I feel that almost all beautifully arranged tracks have some piano elements to it, whatever genre it may be - or perhaps it was having to sit through piano lessons for over 10 years of my life, but the aptly titled Heaven is beautiful. Dreamy, subtle and simple; whichever the reason it is, this one gets my thumbs up.

Similar things can be said about Disappear and Last Goodbye, a well completed finale to this long awaited album. The last track is arguably carries the most powerful emotions of all - yet again, an elegant track with what I believe is a xylophone combined with a piano captures the mood of the album in its entirely... leaving me with a dispute as to whether or not Heart Shaped Pulse or Last Goodbye gets my Oscar nomination for the album.

I was also sent a demo of Harland's collaboration with Duke Mushroom under human ii human containing several tracks due for a full release in the not too distant future. With Pete Lorimer of 29 Palms fame having his hands in part of this project, I was excited to say the least - with 29 Palms producing some of the smoothest remixes and releases from the Perfecto Label a year or two ago. But having no expectations whatsoever, I was taken aback by Stop the Hands of Time a track which would most likely be found on a Cafe del Mar album or played at a chilled out alfresco patio overlooking the sunset. Laidback, pure and emotive - mark my words, this one will be a big one! Loved follows in a similar fashion to some of Harland's material in Sinking Shade but with a more electronic element to it which presume comes from Duke Mushroom - giving the track the distinct Harland feel to it but with a much fuller sound while still keeping to the chilled trippy vibe.

All I could think of Kylie Minogue or Goldfrapp when I heard Plasticated for the first time - picturing a music video with 1,000 robotic clones side by side in silver suits dancing to the beat.. An insanely addictive, 80s-influenced dance track which one can imagine being played in the peak hours of a party in a more chunky format with everyone signing along to the main vocal sequence. Some may consider this verging on the cheesy side, but as someone who is easily offended by cheesy songs - I took this one well, and I think you will too. Plasticated will be released as the first human ii human single soon, so I'd be interested to see what (if any) remixes there may be.

The final track I listened to; To the Other Side is an entirely different beast. Disco-house beats - some Mylo, some Sophie Ellis-Bextor, some Depeche Mode and some more will give the listener a smack around the head if you had expected something on a similar line to the previous tracks. Venturing close to the pop boundary, after listening to this a half a dozen times I am still torn as to whether or not I like it. It is a party track and sitting on the very fine line between pop-house and pop, this is a tough call. Overall, I am looking forward to hearing what human ii human has to offer in the album release soon.