Nick Holder

Toronto’s own Nick Holder is back with the The Other Side, an eclectic, succinctly packaged set of deep house, soul, hip-hop and trance. Featured on the album are the diverse talents of Toronto’s own JME, Jemeni, Reign, Sankofa and Sacha who breaks it down on the sure to be club classic "On My Mind” which, for the first couple of beats, sounds reminiscent of an old school breakin’ track. Keeping with his spiritual vibe, Holder does his part to spin Martin Luther King’s "I Have a Dream” speech on "The Dream Lives On.” The track could have been overdone but the sweet, melodious beats coupled with constant trancelike horns illuminate the words and highlight Holder’s musical mastery. The hip-hop tracks "No More Dating DJ’s” and "History in the Making,” while lyrically strong, interrupt the flow of the album and hardcore house heads will be thrown for a loop, but I give Holder credit for attempting to include all his passions. The only down to the album is that it’s a little too short; by the time you’ve hit your groove spot it’s done. In all, The Other Side is an appropriately titled album revealing more of Nick Holder’s surpassed talent and a whole "other side” of his game.