Race Records.

N.O.H.A.

Dive in Your Life

(Unique Records)

Based in Cologne, Germany, the multiethnic collective N.O.H.A. (Noise of Human Art) has been a staple of the European club music scene for the last 10 years. They've opened and toured with a slew of major electronic musicians (Andy Smith of Portishead, Goldie, and Armand van Helden, among others), released three albums and placed four entries on the German dance charts.

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Dive in Your Life represents a change in focus for the band as N.O.H.A.'s principal collaborators--Prague-born saxophonist Phillip Noha and German keyboardist Jochen Eickenberg--chose to concentrate solely on their main group and maintain a static lineup of contributors as a means of creating a stronger and more consistent sound. Such a move could have detracted from the purposefully eclectic nature of this project, but the resultant songs reflect N.O.H.A.'s and Eickenberg's wide range of sonic influences, their experience as bandleaders and their savvy in matching performers with compositions that allow their talents to shine brightest.

The bassy, swinging title cut (one of six led by Spanish vocalist Minerva Diaz Perez) begins the set's alternation between live instrumentation ("Float" and "Saxomat") and more sample-based tracks (NYC-based emcee Chevy's rap turn on the crackling, thumping "More Pepper") with Perez switching between a breathy whisper and a forceful contralto as the song's texture requires. Highlighting the set are studio and live versions of the haunting, music box-inspired "Lunatica," the latter version featuring a freestyle verse by Chevy over an explosive drum-and-bass/breakbeat bridge that melts and fades back into Perez's wispy vocalizations.