G-Connection - "Free Your Spirit" (Spirit mix) (6:12)
Snare Dream - "LaLaLa" (Deep Ambient) (5:26)
TiEs - "Trying To" (5:59)
Review: Rebirth invites us to go back, way back, to the Italian underground techno scene of the 90s with this new selection of alternate versions, unheard gems and certified classics. Oneiric & Vortex open up with a tune that brings to mind the warmth of Motor City techno on 'Oasi' before GNMR layer up supersized hi hats and seriously weighty beatdown drums, Populous offers the loopy melodic delight of 'Barragan' and G-Connection heads into the cosmos with the dreamy ambient of 'Free Your Spirit', a perfect mood build if ever we heard one. Two further gorgeously blissed-out post-rave comedown sounds close out this gem of an EP.
Review: Shat is a place in Yorkshire (well, the nickname a village called Skelmanthorpe). Shat is something you hope to never do. Shat is also the alias of an artist who makes progressive house with a 90s twist. This outing is a third on the Party Tricks label and it opens with some swirling celestial pads, dream-scape beats and dusty hits that get your head amongst the clouds. 'Dwingeloo' is a faster slice of progressive techno with freewheeling pads and raspy basslines. Two remixes on the flip that things into very different territory but both of them are going to prove effective in the right setting.
Avenue 6 (Is This The Real Life?) (Real Crooked mix) (7:45)
Avenue 6 (Is This The Real Life?) (Crooked Girl Crooked Boy mix) (7:20)
Review: Si Brad was the original in-house producer for the Toko label. Dormant for 20 years, it is now back with a brace of brilliant new releases that immediately put it right back at the top. 'Avenue 6(Is This The Real Life?)' is pure blissed out sunset house music. The drawn out baseline, the gently bouncing drums and the airy vocal from Azeem all take you to a perfect party by the sea. The Real Crooked mix is a low slung and playful yet menacing dub. The Croocked one then steps up once more for a second and final mix that is sparse and eerie with subtle FX and speaker tweaking details.
Bass - The Final Frontier (David Holmes remix) (7:08)
Bass - The Final Frontier (3:23)
Demons Of Dance (6:02)
Mumbo Jumbo (3:44)
Review: Last year, Pamela Records launched with a fantastic EP of cosmic club music from the late, great Andrew Weatherall and his long-time production partner Nina Walsh. For release number two, they've turned to another long-serving London producer, former Aloof collaborator Jo Sims. Lead cut 'Bass - The Final Frontier' (track two on the A-side) is definitely one that Weatherall would have played: a psychedelic, mid-tempo chugger with trance-inducing electronics, twinkling synthesiser lead lines and a throbbing groove. David Holmes remixes, slowing it down further while adding undulating TB-303 'acid' lines and plenty of cinematic textures. Elsewhere, 'Demons of Dance' is a moody dark disco throb-job (Richard Sen would approve), while 'Mumbo Jumbo' is a deep Balearic breaks number tailor made for sunsets and sunrises.
Review: Ohio duo Stash Magnetic (AKA Nick Riggio and Rebecca Magnetic) have previously caught the ear of Adrian Sherwood. Here they make their debut on Al Mackenzie and Chris Kentish's Field of Dreams Recordings imprint via a typically hazy, slow-motion fusion of pitched-down, mind-altering machine beats, bubbly synthesizer lines, moody chords, gnarled electric guitar solos and Magnetic's dystopian lead vocals. The duo's atmospheric and apocalyptic original mix comes backed by a trio of tasty reworks. To our ears, the standout revision comes from Richard Sen, who adds a little drug chug, a chunky synth-bassline and a number of suitably spooky musical touches. We'd also recommend Dan Wainwright's Dub, which sounds like a post-punk-era Adrian Sherwood revision of a glassy-eyed synth-pop jam.
Review: Philadelphia producer and DJ Sweater makes a blistering debut on New York's BLKMARKET MUSIC with five cuts that blur the lines between breakbeat, tech-house and low-slung electro. It's a sound rooted as much in dusty record bins he works the counter at Impressions Philly as it is in the warehouse circuits that forged this connection back in 2021. 'The Answer' opens with choppy drums and cosmic static, before both versions of 'Twilight Zone' spin the same eerie motif into sleek machine funk ('Space Mix') and woozy stepper ('Broken Mix'). On the flip, 'Better Ask Somebody' dials up the groove with bumping mids and a ghosted vocal chop, while 'Contact In The Zone' sends things into sludgy, broken-rhythm hypnosis. A bold first outing that speaks in riddles but hits with intent.
Review: Terrestrial Funk reissues a lost gem with the 'Summertime' EP by System Exclusive, a UK white label classic from the late eighties and early nineties. This four-track EP, featuring Jacqueline Foster aka Jacquoda's stunning vocals, includes the downtempo hit 'Summertime,' the dubbed-out 'Jennifer,' and two versions of 'Let's Climb.' The 'Come To Me Mix' and 'Glad You Made It Dub' are perfect for festival nights, showcasing hypnotic and powerful grooves. Simon Akers and Jason Brown's production, now brought to light by Terrestrial Funk, highlights their unique blend of downtempo and electronic bangers, making this perfect for crate diggers and new listeners.
Review: French producer St Germain laid down a pretty untouchable deep house blueprint with his debut album Boulevard, then managed to go one better with Tourist a couple of years later. It had even more instrumental magic and jazz class to it, over the deep, driving yet cuddly house beats with plenty of spoken word tributes to house legends, hummable top lines and iconic flutes that have endured for more than 20 years since its release. The whole thing has been remastered and now arrives on translucent orange vinyl. A true classic that will never go out of fashion and works both at home and in the club equally well.
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