Having released his first "full-length" dance CD Transformed in 1996, DJ AJ Mora follows up with Soul of a DJ, a relentless in-your-face dance/house album that will divide listeners into one of two camps. The first camp is comprised of hardcore ravers who will jam to any beat just because it's a beat. The second camp consists of fans of techno who enjoy creative music that is well-produced and somewhat lyrical. The former camp will be most satisfied with Mora's industrial-strength drum tracks, which pound away for six minutes at a time at 130 bpm. Fans of the second camp may find some monotony to the lengthy songs, but will still enjoy the huge bass response, at least for the first four minutes.
Mora makes liberal use of sampled vocals to get the message across, but taps guest vocalists DJ Lamech on "Come Together," Mark C. on "Come In With Your Hands Up", Victor Z. on "Take Me Higher" and Gabee Mora on "He Is Love" to add their chops to the mix. Although most of the songs generally sound the same, they all reflect the fast and furious Mora style which has made him popular in the L.A. club scene. The radio edit has a neo-disco feel, with its slap bass octave interval counterpoint. "Gonna Make You Move" breaks from the monotony and closes the CD with a strong hip-hop/rap track written and co-produced by Amilcar Monterosso and Gladys Prawl.
Mora has a large repertoire to draw from as a writer and producer and doesn't subject the listener to re-used material. Unlike some remixer's albums, there is only one song here ("He Is Love") repeated with a six-minute remix of the 3-1/2 minute radio edit, or more likely, a radio edit of the original marathon.
One interesting note about Soul of a DJ is that "Blow Your Whistle" was included on the Sold Out On Latin Gospel compilation, expanding Mora's reach to another audience and solidifying his popularity with his fans.
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