Yousef – I Operate In Purple LP [Circus Recordings]

Yousef – I Operate In Purple LP [Circus Recordings]

Marking 30 years in the game, Yousef’s fifth studio album ‘I Operate In Purple’ is both a celebration and a statement. A veteran of the UK’s house music scene, Yousef has spent decades shaping dancefloors around the world, and this latest release, on his own Circus Recordings imprint, feels like the culmination of that experience: confident, wide-ranging, and emotionally resonant. Crammed full with 14 uplifting grooves, Yousef builds a sonically diverse, emotionally textured journey through house, collaborating with a cross-section of vocalists and musicians who bring their own energy to the project, including Baby Girl, Kuuda, Bodacious Thang, Alexx, and Yasmin.

Highlight cuts include the potent ‘Intuition’ with a spoken word from Baby Girl, and ‘Higher Place’ ft Kuuda, which has already made its mark as a standout single and includes a radio edit from Calvin Harris. Other highlights include ‘In My Shoes’ ft Bodacious Thang, a playful and charismatic homage to dance culture, ‘Nothing But Love’ sporting a sublime key solo, the immense piano driven, brass loaded album title track, ‘I Operate In Purple’, and ‘I Feel Good’ ft Alexx, packed with an irresistible bounce and warmth with a nod to 80’s soul. ‘Then with Perri’ is a powerful groove, teased with emotive strings, and comes paired with ‘Daybreak’, for the new single release from the LP. ‘Daybreak’ really captures a sense of renewal and possibility, its layered emotive piano-led instrumentation unfolding gradually into one of the album’s most rewarding moments. There’s also a notable high-quality musicality running throughout, in no small part due to Yousef’s ongoing collaboration with Tim Hutton. Whether it’s the soulful flourishes or the subtle layering, there’s a sense that these tracks have been built with care and love. ‘I Operate In Purple’ is a superb and emotionally intelligent album from one of house music’s most consistently great artists.