There"s a sense of paradox in Love & Beyond. It"s Jay Haze"s most defining album to date, but also, his most unexpected, in both music and form. Then again, he"s never been described as someone who does what"s expected! Here Jay presents a divergent self-portrait, spanning two CDs and two vinyl LPs, with different tracks on each format. Love & Beyond exceeds expectations, defies limitations, explores and ignores the constraints of genre. And it"s sexy. It"s hard to summarize Mr. Haze"s ever-diversifying ventures. He had three club hits under his Fuckpony alias, released by Get Physical, BPitch Control, and Cocoon. As Sub Version, he and Michal Ho teamed up with Paul St. Hilaire for Soul Jazz"s Box of Dub compilation, followed by a full-length. He maintained the labels Contexterrior, Junion, and Futuredub, and he held a DJ residency at Fabric in London. This, of course, was in 2007 alone – not including other numerous accomplishments since founding TuningSpork in his hometown of Philadelphia in 1999. Taking all this into account, the level of progression shown on Love & Beyond shouldn"t be a surprise. Self-produced in his Berlin studio over the last three years, this is Jay Haze"s DIY oeuvre: a singular, yet fragmented vision from someone who is (in no particular order) a producer, a businessman, a DJ, a human.The double-vinyl pack of dancefloor material, produced with the DJs in mind, will prove to longtime fans that Jay Haze hasn"t lost his ability to move the dancefloor. With completely different tracks from the double-CD, the eight cuts here find him exploring organic, funky sounds (including the lead single “Ass to Mouth”) as much as hypnotic sci-fi territory. The digital download version is augmented with a host of alternate mixes.

ANDREW WEATHERALL (Soma, Rotte: ““I played four tracks at my album launch and the place went crazy!” ”

BRAD PITT (yes, the actor): ““I was never into this kind of music before, but after hearing this album in the club, it made we want to become a DJ.” ”

CLASH (UK), May 2008: ““Undoubtedly a substantial record… full of warm electric soul with a funky, urban vibe.” ”

DJ MAG (UK), Vol. 4, No. 61: ““Destined for future classic status.” ”

DMC UPDATE (UK), Issue 271: ““Sublime sleaze and vision all round.” 5/5. ”

ELECTRONIC BEATS Spring 2008: ““A rich, layered, emotional album that references multitudes of styles, not least hip-hop, funk, and house.” ”

ELLEN ALLIEN (BPitch Control –: ““Jay is one of my favorite producers of the moment, and this album shows why.” ”

FACT (UK), Feb 2008: ““Haze is a mercurial production talent, there's no doubt.” ”

Further support from...: “
ANJA SCHNEIDER (Mobilee – Berlin)
IVAN SMAGGHE (Kill the DJ – UK)
D’JULZ (Pokerflat - Paris)
MINILOGUE (Cocoon, Traum – Sweden)
SEBO K (Mobilee – Berlin)
SIMON BAKER (2020 Vision – UK)
CASSY (Perlon - Berlin)
MIKE MONDAY (Great Stuff, Playtime – London)
SHADI MEGALLAA (Kalamari Musique – Zürich)
AGENT ORANGE (Fassade – Germany)
JULIETTA (Harry Klein - Münich)
A-INC (Junion - Japan)
ANGEL MOLINA (Sónar - Barcelona) ”

Groove Mag (GER): “Jay Haze demonstriert hochgradige Vielseitigkeit und serviert mit Love & Beyond ein echtes Chamäleon von einem Album. Während sich die CD-Version aufmacht, das eng gespannte Clubkorsett hinter sich zu lassen und sich in vollmundig souliger Popseeligkeit aalt, kommt die Vinylversion – höchst zielgruppenkonform – mit straight dancefloortauglichen Minimaltools daher. Vor allem CD1 überrascht mit souligen Tracks zwischen Funk und markigem R’n’B und macht dermaßen einen auf dicke Hose, dass man geneigt ist, sich noch mal zu vergewissern, ob man nicht versehentlich daneben gegriffen und Jay-Z statt Jay Haze eingelegt hat. Klar, an den Beats erkennt man meist doch das Mastermind von Contextterrior, Junion und Futuredub, aber die durchgängig vocalgetragene Popkompatibilität der souligen Songs verblüfft doch ziemlich. Auf CD2 geht es dann mit gebrocheneren Beats zwischen Dubstep, Electro und Jazz etwas erwartungskonformer weiter, aber auch hier gibt es keine Spur von minimalem Clubkonsens. Dieser wiederum wird kongenial von den reduziert düsteren Minimalmonstern der Vinylversion bedient, die mit ihrem klassisch geradlinigen Tanzflurappeal kaum gegenteiliger sein könnte. Mehr Bandbreite pro Album ist wirklich nicht drin. Jay Haze umarmt die Zielgruppe(n) und trägt ein weiteres Stückchen zur Auflösung des klassischen Albumbegriffs bei. SD”

iDJ (UK), May 2008: ““Worth the wait – more, please!” ”

JAKE ONE / TOOB (Lo): ““This is techno.house as it should be. Really great selection and I will be supporting fully.” ”

KNOWLEDGE (UK), May 2008: ““Breathtaking stuff.” ”

LAURENT GARNIER (F Communicati: ““Very good album indeed. Will definitely play a few tracks from there and also present it on my radio show.” ”

LOCO DICE (Desolat, M-nus – NY: ““Loving that shit… good way to bring hip-hop and dance music together.” ”

ONLY FOR DJs (FR), May 2008: ““Concernant l’album, on s’éloigne du dancefloor, avec des tentatives nu-soul électroniques surprenantes.” ”

REPEAT REPEAT (Soma): ““Great album – loving all the tracks.” ”

RESIDENTADVISOR.NET, April 200: ““Far more interesting than recent albums by established artists.” ”

RICARDO VILLALOBOS (Sei Es Dru: ““Perfect vinyl because there are many styles in one. I can play it with house or techno. Been playing it from the moment – Jay’s best dance work yet.” ”

SELECTED RADIO DJ FEEDBACK: “
“This is touch stuff indeed – will definitely find its way into my sets.” NERM / BBC RADIO 1, 1XTRA
“It’s sounding good!” BECY GRIERSON / BBC RADIO 1
“This is what dance music is all about – all tracks will most definitely find their way onto the show.” GAVIN WHITE / ALL FM (UK)
“Quality album – will certainly receive play.” SAM BAILEY / KISS 100 (UK) ”

STRAIGHT NO CHASER (UK), March: ““His most inventive, unexpected and colourful record to date.” ”

TRAX (FR), May 2008: ““La variété des titres impressionne vraiment, certains, parfois osés, dépassant meme crânement les limites du conventionnel.” 7/10. ”

TSUGI (FR), May 2008: “Album of the month. ”

VIBRATIONS (FR), April 2008: ““Il y a toujours des expérimentateurs dans la dance-music. Jay Haze le prouve brillamment.” ”

XLR8R (US), Feb 2008: “"Full of R&B vocals, hip-hop attitude, and raging tech-house beats that seem to never end (in the best way)." ”

ZANDER VT (BPitch - Berlin): ““Great album from the one they call The Haze. ‘Lost in Deep Space’ and ‘I Can’t Forget’ are big time dancefloor-bombs, but then again so are the rest …” ”