MOOD II SWING Schallplatten & CDs

Review: Earlier this year, legendary NY house label King Street Sounds was acquired by Armada Music. The Dutch imprint plans to reissue many of the well-known - and lesser-celebrated - gems from the King Street vaults in the months and years ahead. To kick things off, they've delivered this vinyl sampler featuring some of the stable's most admired cuts of all time. So, we get Dennis Ferrer's iconic remix of Blaze and Barbara Tucker's gospel-powered soulful house anthem, 'Most Precious Love', the 'King Street Mix' of Jovonn's legendary deep, bumpin' tribute to New Jersey's Club Zanzibar, 'Back To Zanzibar', Mood II Swing's hot and heavy 'moody club mix' of their own Carole Sylvan collaboration 'Closer' and the all-time deep house classic that is the Wamdue Black extended rework of 'Cascades of Colour' by Ananda Project. Simply essential!

Review: Now under new ownership (international dance music powerhouse Armada Music, fact fans), long-serving New York house imprint King Street Sounds is doing a good job in showcasing gems from its vast archives. This second label sampler contains four more genuine must-have cuts. First up, there's a chance to admire the deep, soulful house wonder that is Dennis Ferrer's 2008 hook-up with honeyed vocalist K.T. Brooks, 'How Do I Let Go'. It's followed by Masters at Work's deliciously loose, disco-influenced deep house revision of 'Give It Up' by Lil' Louis' Rain project (first released in 2000), Mood II Swing's DIY Soundsystem favourite 'Sunlight In My Eyes' (easily one of the greatest deep house jams of all time) and Lil' Louis's swinging garage-house rub of Kimra Lovelace's 'Misery'.

Review: Yes, here we go, another lovely reissue of this utter Mood II Swing classic from the 90's! Last time we saw this it was on a considerably grubbier bootleg and featuring only the two mixes of "Move Me"- which are obviously the bees-knees in house music and probably as pioneering as the Chicago generation before them (that bassline on the original mix is simply irresistible!) - while this time you also get "Call Me" and "Function", two dusty-as-hell floor swipers that'll get anybody swinging from side to side with the right mood...

Review: There's no hard sell needed when it comes to a reissue of a mid 90s Mood II Swing classic, and they don't come much more rock solid than this. The original version of "I See You Dancing" has it all, from the catchy but dreamy synth hook and steamy vocal sample to the killer drum shuffles and dirty bass, while the "Remix" simply adds a touch of New York shuffle and some high-frequency string tension for a slightly different kink to the track. "Slippery Track" is yet another timeless gem with its minimal demeanor, all undressed drums and a single filtering melodic lick. "Ohh" rounds things out with the more romantic side of Mood II Swing, dealing out a bittersweet line in chords for dancefloors the world over to swoon to.