- Melbourne’s Harvey Sutherland is about to release a new EP titled Expectations. This isn’t a solo endeavour however, being backed by his live band Bermuda. This is the second official released from Sutherland’s (aka Mike Katz)’s label Clarity Records.

Releases under the Sutherland moniker have been coming out steadily since 2013, on first-rate labels like Echovolt Records, People’s Potential Unlimited and Australia’s Voyage Recordings. Up until this point his tracks have been predominately housey and electronically oriented. The new EP brings live instrumentation and improvisation to the fore, making it some of the best dance music you’ll hear period.

For the extended-play, Sutherland is supported by his live group Bermuda. The trio, in addition to Katz, consists of Graeme Pogson (of the excellent electro-funk duo GL and The Bamboos) on drums and Tamil Rogeon (previously of the The RAah Project) playing electric violin. In addition they’re joined by a team of hand-clappers, most of who provided claps for his above average single Priestess that came out last year. The exception to this is Kane Ikin, first-time hand clapper, but who has collaborated with Mike under the alias Coup D'état.

The trio translates Kat’s productions into tight (but not too tight) disco jams, with plenty of room for funky tangents and improvisation. You can get a great impression of their cohesiveness from a live session Resident Advisor recorded of them.

The first track Clarity, a purported live favourite, sets the laidback atmosphere. Layers of keys slowly build up, strings complimenting them deftly as the track progresses. The song Why Look Back, with its classic disco/house beat, and also Coast 2 Coast both exhibit a g-funk flavour, with a warbling lead synth and stomping propulsion, Sutherland really letting it rip on the keys at points. Expectations is another spacious disco track, built around a simple synth sequence, but which crescendos ecstatically. Things are brought down for the celestial jazz of Spiders, the most atypical of the tracks, bass being entirely absent. Closer Saturn’s Return brings you back to the dancefloor, with some mean, funky-clav and a divine string arrangement.

I was only turned on to Sutherland recently, and I’m all the gladder for it. For me it evokes the joyous productions of Patrick Adams, with shades of Metro Area and other contemporary disco acts for good measure. More importantly, it doesn’t sound like a put-on pastiche, this work is confident, original and in control. Quite simply seldom do you find a live dance act (let alone a disco act) with such finesse.

- Hill Folk.