NAIL Schallplatten & CDs

Review: UK house mainstay Nail has some long roots that go all the way back to the Nottingham scene of the mid-nineties as part of the DiY crew, while he also explored more downtempo sounds as one half of Bent. He is still very much kicking out the jams all these decades on, always with a nice sharp groove and crisp hi hats. That is the case again here with his Mercy EP on Kick-n-Dance which ones with the striped back and infectious 'Broccoli', gets more deep and vibes with 'Lettuce' and comes doused in soul in the case of the flipside opener 'Whas Happenin' which channels Marvin Gaye. 'Spring Greens' is another smart tech house closer that does everything right.

Review: It has been some years now since Nail came back from the wilderness after one of his early EPs was re-released by Fear of Flying. Since then he has turned out plenty of new material as well as digging deep into his vast and vital vaults to serve up the sort of lo-fi but kicking house sounds that made him and his Nottingham crew such a driving force back in the 90s. And that's what we get here on For Those That Knoe - no fewer than eight masterfully stripped-back cuts of deep house. Some are laced with dreamy melodies, some roll deep for days, some are raw and textured pumpers and some are jazzed-up bangers with charm to spare. Essential stuff.