Spaceheater spawned from the Jazz Mafia cabal, and originated as a duo with Francis on woodwinds and producer Bill M. mixing beats. The expanded version is distributed by Daly City Records, home of Mochipet and other DJ-centric acts. Normally a jazz combo would seem out of place in such environs, but Spaceheater isn’t really a jazz combo — not in the traditional sense, at least. Rather, Francis likes to experiment. He’s the composer’s equivalent to a restless teenager, always shifting grooves or mixing and matching, setting a busy drum pattern against an equally busy — but unrelated — horn part.
On some songs (“Persistent” and “Interlude”), he adds electronic sounds to make the music sound live and synthetic at the same time. The horns seldom fall in lockstep with the rhythm, but that’s what makes it interesting. There’s no question Francis is on to something new. (Ropeadope)
