Review: Ari Bald & CJ Scott are "Stockholm pals and soulmates" who have made waves on the legendary Studio Barnhus before now and here return to another local imprint in Baenger. Across the four tracks they delve into feel-good sounds with a hint of nostalgia that are perfectly in time for summer. The sample-heavy EP opens with 'Cloudy White', a thumping house cut with poppy synth magic and r&b vocals that swell your heart. 'Pan Riche' taps into filter house with sugary leads and 90s house drums that will have you rushing in an instant. The flip side starts with more contemporary disco-house fusion gold and finishes with 'Dime Girl', a funky and low-slung groover.
Crackazat - "Can't Blame A Soul" (Mana dub) (5:51)
Beatsbyhand - "SARS" (6:24)
Review: Kid Fonque presents the sixth instalment of his label Stay True Sounds' compilation series. Showcasing the best of South Africa's dynamic musical talents, this 15-track volume of intense deep house and Afro house cuts is not to be passed over. Highlights on this 12" sampler edition of the wider comp include 'We R 1', a technologically driven, syncopated, trippy Kalahari jam by China Charmeleon and Hypaphonik; and 'SARS' by Beatsbyhand, a hollering ambient amapiano mystery.
Review: New York's Joe Claussell offers three blistering takes on 'So In Love' by Black Rascals, the early 90s project from Blaze. This red-label 7" is a pricey one, but the contents justify it: deep house from the source, reworked by one of its most spiritual selectors. 'Rough Mix 1' leans into swirling vocal loops and expansive FX, full of Claussell's signature dynamics, while 'Rough Mix 2' dials back the drama slightly for something more floor-focused. Flip it for 'Drums', a stripped-down tool that reimagines the track as raw percussive hypnosis. Essential NY house lineage, revived in style and pressed loud-just don't expect it to hang around.
Revolution Of Tha Mind (Lil Mark Swing Tech mix) (6:15)
Revolution Of Tha Mind (Chris Carrier 909 Tribute mix) (6:10)
Review: Oblivium's first vinyl outing is well worthy of its space on wax as Nicola Brusegan and Camilo Gil serve up the deep than deep house of 'Revolution Of Tha Mind 909 Poems By: Tea Time.' The original Hood mix is first and is one coated in sustained chords, dusty atmospheres and soulful vocal mutterings with plenty of analogue percussion and loopy, swinging drums. The Luciano remix is a more uneasy and stringy minimal version, as you would expect, and then comes a much more raw and edgy number from Lil Mark in the form of his Swing Tech mix. A Varied and vital package is shut down with Chris Carrier's steamy and humid 909 Tribute mix.
Review: Christian Rinderman, aka C-Rock, has been a key figure in Frankfurt's house scene since the 90s, consistently delivering deep and funky tracks regardless of fleeting trends. His first release in 1995 included the club favourite 'Funky Dope Trakk,' which quickly gained support from local and international DJs. Ricardo Villalobos, among others, played the tune relentlessly for decades. In 2012/13, C-Rock's own label Lo-Fi Stereo remixed and reissued the track, but those versions have since become rare and sought-after. Now, 'All That Jelly' is reissuing the four original versions, freshly remastered from the original DATs, ensuring they'll remain dancefloor staples for the next 30 years.
Review: Groovin Italy landed a monumental reissue for the label with C'hantal's 'The Realm'. Originally released way back in 1990 on the dance and early Brooklyn based Powertraxx records. Staying true to the original release, it offers the 'Love In D Minor' mix but does one better in tucking in the Acapella version to the A-side so the B-side 2 versions have a little more room to breathe. The added bonus has to be putting on the more rare "Wild Club mix' to the party along with the original 'Rave Mix'. All and all, a very packed reissue of some of the best versions of the track, all on one record. This might just hold the number one spot for best techno reissue so far of 2024.
Review: Alexis Cabrera has always liked to subvert expectations and cross traditional genre lines in his work. He does so again here on the On_NRV label which brims with inventive spirit. 'Mi Housa Es Tu Housa' is a vibrant minimal house cut with some fresh synth sounds looping through rolling and infectious drums. 'Balas Que Pican Cerca' has a more abstract cosmic feel with menacing sci-fi pads and unreeling drum funk. 'Expiration Pain' has a steely aesthetic with rugged and textural synth motifs looping up through the mix and last of all, 'Under That Blue Sea' is a more balmy cut that allows you to catch your breadth amongst some deeper grooves.
Review: Berlin-based Argentinian Alexis Cabrera has been knocking out classy minimal and tech house OPEs for a while on top labels like Atypic and Supervise Music. He here arrives on the fledgling Into The Woods label with more of his well crafted late nigh trips. 'Insatiable' is a sublime mix of rubbery bass rumbles and smooth synths that loop in concentric circles and take you ever higher into heaven as they do so. 'Liturgia' is a more experimental mix of loops and synth modulations that bring subtle funk to the popping drums. It's playful and fun and 'Serial Light' shuts down with some jazzy snare work, rolling keys and beams of sunlight through the shutters at 5 am.
Review: Erol Alkan's faultless Phantasy Sound is one of the most high-quality but musically hard to predict labels out there. British Ugandan DJ Josh Caffe has dropped a few killers here before and has a full length coming later in the year but first is 'Meine Lederjeans'. It's a slow-motion electro-funk cut which vocals that drip with Prince-style sexuality and soul. The Paranoid London remix then does what Paranoid London remixes do - bring the grit, grime and sleaze. It's a raw and frazzled remix with early Chicago acid-house vibes. A superb EP with two very different but equally standout tunes.
Review: Not everyone 'gets' house. First, there are those who dismiss it as mindless 4x4 schlock; then, even amongst those who ostensibly enjoy the moods that the genre lays down, there are still individuals who fail to appreciate the subtleties that glue the spaces between the beats, or the musicality that holds the tunes together as opposed the lacks thereof that might make them flop. Whatever the case, Calisto's Definitive Classic (TM) 'Get House' is an ahead-of-its-time house pioneers' artifact, coming as an early example of what some might call tech house, albeit nowadays most would simply assume is acid or breakbeat. Indeed, to truly be able to appreciate the differences betweem genres, you have to just, you know, kinda, just 'get it'.
Shining Of Life Flutemental (unreleased version) (11:01)
Shining Of Life Flutemental (Lambros Jahmans remix) (5:15)
UNDUB (Space Ritual dub) (10:40)
Shining Of Life Flutemental (Space Ritual dub) (11:15)
Review: Some 20 years ago, Japanese producer donned the K.F alias (the initials of his given name, Kiyotaka Fukagawa) and delivered the astonishingly good 'Shining of Life', a sun-soaked Balearic house treat shot through with Japanese nu-jazz musicality, gospel-influenced vocals and expansive, life-affirming piano solos. This EP offers up previously unheard 'Shining of Light Flutemental' takes. Calm's own 'unreleased mix' retains some of the key elements of the 2004 original while adding morning-fresh flute solos and starry sounds seemingly inspired by Detroit techno. The 'Lambros Jahmans Sunset Mix' is a dreamy and immersive interpretation underpinned by an Afro-house style beat, while the 'Space Ritual Dub' is an almost entirely beat-free soundscape. On 'Undub (Space Ritual Dub)', the same producer wraps echoing flute and piano motifs around a tactile, hand percussion-driven rhythm track.
B-STOCK: Creasing to corner of outer sleeve but otherwise in excellent condition
Shining Of Life Flutemental (unreleased version) (11:01)
Shining Of Life Flutemental (Lambros Jahmans remix) (5:15)
UNDUB (Space Ritual dub) (10:40)
Shining Of Life Flutemental (Space Ritual dub) (11:15)
Review: ***B-STOCK: Creasing to corner of outer sleeve but otherwise in excellent condition***
Some 20 years ago, Japanese producer donned the K.F alias (the initials of his given name, Kiyotaka Fukagawa) and delivered the astonishingly good 'Shining of Life', a sun-soaked Balearic house treat shot through with Japanese nu-jazz musicality, gospel-influenced vocals and expansive, life-affirming piano solos. This EP offers up previously unheard 'Shining of Light Flutemental' takes. Calm's own 'unreleased mix' retains some of the key elements of the 2004 original while adding morning-fresh flute solos and starry sounds seemingly inspired by Detroit techno. The 'Lambros Jahmans Sunset Mix' is a dreamy and immersive interpretation underpinned by an Afro-house style beat, while the 'Space Ritual Dub' is an almost entirely beat-free soundscape. On 'Undub (Space Ritual Dub)', the same producer wraps echoing flute and piano motifs around a tactile, hand percussion-driven rhythm track.
Review: Sao Paulo artist and About Disco label head Rafael Cancian once played Motor City Wine party in its native Detroit and was thought to hail from the city itself so synonymous was his sound with what the locals expected. As such he now steps up to Hot Pot with a new pair of edits starting with 'Heaven.' It's a fulsome cosmic disco stepper with low sling drums and plenty of shiny synths as well as soothing vocal coos that help take you to ecstasy. Flip it over and you will find 'Nigeriac' which is a syncopated mix of Afro funk and rock to shake your bones loose.
Review: Exemplary nu-disco wax from the German Kaskadeur crew, lending a much-coveted plodders' energy to two sonic units by disco's twin queens. The slow churn of 'Kaskadeur 08', the eighth in the eponymous series, is characteristic of much contemporary techno-disco, betraying a capacity to urge foot, leg and hip movements in the listener and yet still without so much as a hint of histrionics: a must if you want to leave so much as a scent of cool in today's scene. The mysteriously named 'AN' and 'NE' play back like electrochromic disco hits of yore, though their source material is various, making this a special case of not just editing, but remixing: the A's 'Hearts Run Free' by Candi Staton and the B's 'No Mountain High Enough' by Diana Ross are make for great uses each.
Review: Native Soul Recordings has been around a long old time in dance music terms and now it looks back over some of its finest works with this first in a new series of Best Of comps. Music writer Harold Heath is first up with 'Slipstream,' an effortless smooth late-night house cut with introspective chords and silky pads bringing real depth. The Candy Dealers get more lithe and elastic with the spraying bass and jumbled percussive house of 'Train Of Thought' and last of all, Asad Rizvi remixes Jevne's 'Moderize' with a funky little bassline and chord vamps that keep you on edge. A tasteful package of timeless house grooves.
Review: Aussie label Picnic defies the notion that 13 is unlucky with an irresistibly fun new 12" from Captn K. 'Get It On' is full flavour house music with squelchy cosmic bass, big hits and prickly percussion, but the icing on the cake is a well worked sample from the soul legend Marvin Gaye. Rather than sounding over familiar as can many samples, this one sounds fresh because of the dazzling action all around it. 'I Need Some Loving' is another colourful house tune that draws from the old school piano era and melts it with some cosmic vibrations and another Gaye sample, then 'It Will Take An Eternity To Break Us' closes out with lush future disco chords and start-eyed melodies over warm deep house beats.
Review: Jurgen Paape has a brilliantly characterful sound and wrote one of our favourite silly records in 'Ofterschwang' some 13 years ago (go check it out, it's brilliant.) We're glad to hear some new music from the long time Kompakt legend and co-founder and once again it's not what you would expect. 'Allein' is a downbeat piece with oriental melodies and gently plucked strings over warm bass. It's not for the club, that is for sure, but the flip side version 'Allein In Italien' sure is. This one is a chugging and brit Italo disco number with retro 80s synth sounds and plenty of joyous grooves.
Review: Carlita comes hot off the heels of a recent remix of Diplo's 'Don't Be Afraid' with a fresh EP for Life And Death. Tinged with inflections from Italo house to ambient techno, 'Bon Trip' and 'Run Run Run' are dreamlike trips through chordy syncopation and whirly vocal. By far the best aspect of this EP is the techno remix by Krystal Klear, which has a sprinkling of autotune that's been amped up to French house levels. A glossy and ear-piquing new EP.
Review: DJs this one is for you, The Makossa Man is back AGAIN after its 18 years of hiatus with more of their covers and remixes of the original 2003 EP. Limited to just 300 copies this is a much-welcomed love letter to DJs and the original EP, giving it a lease of new life and being a much-anticipated sequel to the sold-out original Makossa Man Remix EP that is set to release later this August. Carlos Nilmmns and Simoncino are a welcome return to the roster, serving up another plate of fantastic tribal deep house. The rhythms are infectious and hopefully serve as samples for some incredible DJ sets to come.
Review: Anorax has got a vital 10" here featuring a stone cold classic Balearic house tune from Don Carlos in two different mixes. First is the Paradise mix which is as Ibiza as house music gets - the swirling pads, the subtly joyous feeling in the piano chords, the blistered bassline. It all immediately transports you to the White Isle and gazing out to see as the sun sets and the party ratchets up a gear. On the flip is a Lute Mix which brings some more mellifluous melodies and makes the drums a little more bouncy. Both are brilliant.
Review: Derek Carr's brand of Detroit-influenced electronic futurism has always oozed class, with the Irish producer prioritising mood, melody and ear-pleasing synth sounds above all else. It's this blend - both club-ready and perfect for home listening - that makes his releases worth checking. We'd highly recommend Electro Statik Part One, the first in a series of vinyl excursions that as usual blur the boundaries between styles. He begins with the immersive chords, jumpy lead lines and smooth house beats of 'In Transit', before diving headlong into deep electro-meets-IDM waters on the impeccable 'Mimas'. Turn to side B for the skittish, far-sighted and picturesque electro-not-electro number 'A Star Dies', as well as the warming, pitched-down electronic melancholia of 'Dione'.
Review: The unstoppable and always innovative Derek Carr returns with a new outing on Trident that is as potent as thew UK's weapon defensive system of the same name. It kicks off with the bumping beats and vamping chords of 'Ill Met By Moonlight"' then takes in 'Skeksis II' which is a more brain frying and acid laced techno cut. There is a super sweet garage feel and soulful house edge to the liquid grooves of 'Going Thru Life' then 'Nod' shuts down with some Detroit style hi-tek soul to round out Carr's most diverse and effective EP for a while.
Review: Nu Groove will always be synonymies with a distinctive take on deep house - the label rose to prominance in the late 80s and early 90s in its native New Jersey and put out definitive releases from The Burell Brothers, mostly, but also a selection of other dons of the day. Some of them now come together for the first time on vinyl as Chicago legend Ron Carroll offers up a pair of tunes from his House Of Love EP. On the reverse, Trilogy Inc. come back strong with a couple of newbies in the bouncy house of 'Awakening', and 'Hi Cycle', which comes on more energetically with strong percussive patterns and classic drums. Serious heat, this.
Last Night (feat Harriet Brown - MAD vocal mix) (7:11)
Last Night (6:27)
Phone Sexting (5:23)
New Life (5:19)
Review: One-man dance music production line Tom Carruthers - a regular contributor to L.I.E.S and the man behind the admirable Nonstop Rhythm label - makes his bow on Make a Dance's M.A.D imprint. Fittingly, the fast-rising duo kick things off with their take on title track 'Last Night', delivering a vintage-sounding house cut featuring sublime lead vocals from Harriet Brown that sits somewhere between Frankie Knuckles' turn-of-the-90s productions and Larry Heard's late 80s deep house jams. Carruthers' gorgeous instrumental original mix follows. Over on side B, 'Phone Sexting' sees Carruthers blur the boundaries between proto-house and early Chicago jack tracks, while 'New Life' is a picturesque slab of deep techno loveliness.
Review: Leron Carson may not be the best-known Midwest producer, but he has history. Carson's first release came way back in 2001, with Theo Parrish putting out a track he'd recorded way back in 1987 and has appeared on Sound Signature intermittently over the years. This new 12" from Carson for Theo's label is HEAVY! "Lemonline" is a deliciously breezy concoction, with Carson's jazzy piano riffs working in perfect unison with bouncy, Latin-influenced drum rhythms. Flipside "Sofnthik", on the other hand, sounds like a previously unheard 1980s Chicago deep house concoction, with warm, loved-up chords swirling around a clattering drum machine groove. Whether it was recorded 30 years ago is unknown, but it certainly boasts a similar lo-fi, analogue feel.
Review: Oh yes, we love it when Theo represses some of his most sought after tracks and this one is particularly well-timed. Leron Carson is still an unknown figure, a kid who used to make viciously raw and futuristic techno tracks in the late 1980's! "China Trax", alongside the rest of his tracks on a different Sound Signature double 12", is totally ahead of its time and if it was truly made in 1987 then it is nothing short of amazing. Of course, it's not just the year it was made in that's interesting but also the fact that it's music without an age, able to be appreciated by any generation of techno freaks. Theo's own "Insane Asylum" on the flipside is also pretty monumental; rigged beats, off-kilter grooves and that familiar spontaneity so heavily associated to the label.
Review: Berkeley-born Cornell CC Carter returns with 'The Change,' which is the lead single from his upcoming album on Expansion. Initially making waves with his debut album Vindicated Soul in 2017, Carter has become a force in the UK soul scene with subsequent albums such as One Love, Absolutely, and Next Life. With a storied career that includes collaborations with The Isley Brothers and performances alongside James Brown, he has been a staple on Expansion's Soul Togetherness and Luxury Soul series, and graced the stage at the Luxury Soul Weekender in Blackpool. Here 'The Change' comes with 'Sometimes,' which is produced by Brian Carter and offers a nice counterpoint to the a-side.
Let's Invade The Amazon (Yoruba Soul remix) (6:19)
Let's Invade The Amazon (JKriv remix) (6:33)
Review: Legend of the Madrid scene Casbah 73 is back with a new one for Kraak & Smaak's Boogie Angst here, featuring four new sweltering tracks. The message of environmental politics on 'Let's Invade The Amazon' sung by Hawaii by-way-of Texas' Tonya Wilcox is backed by a low slung disco arrangement, followed by the late night boogie-down instrumental 'Pale Splash Of Blue'. Over on the flip, remixes come from some right legends of the scene; Yoruba Soul takes the track deeper as expected, while Razor N Tape main man JKriv goes for a tropical vibe.
Review: Having previously worked his magic on classic cuts from Diana Ross, Luther Vandross and Teddy Pendergrass - among others - Bridge Boots boss Caserta has now moved on to Marvin Gaye. He's grabbed the acapella from a classic song - in this case one of Gaye's duets with Diana Ross, "My Mistake (Was To Love You)"- and incorporated it into a brand new track. The A-side "Casey Mistake Mix" sits somewhere between early '80s boogie and the mid-80s proto-house sound created by Boyd Jarvis, Timmy Regisford and Paul Simpson. Interestingly, Gaye and Ross's vocals fit it like a glove. The flipside "Dub That Got Away" is an altogether more bumpin' garage-house workout rich in cut-up vocals snippets and wobbly analogue bass.
Review: Caserta is legendary digger Kon's long time engineer, and he sure does have a wealth of tricks up his own sleeve. Here he gets to tackle his own super 7" on the Bridge Boots label and first off he serve sup a lovely take on a Stevie Wonder tune. 'Stevie?' (Caserta Sunday Saint mix) has mid-tempo grooves rolling away nicely beneath exquisite synth work and a well-treated vocal from the man himself. JoDaCe steps up on the flip for a Saturday Sinner mix that is more driving and ready for the club. The bass is rugged, the vocals more looped and freaky, the effect just as brilliant but in different ways.
Review: Joseph Caserta is an LA-based artist with a now global profile after outings on God Hour, Shadeleaf and Razor-N-Tape. He brings a distinctive funk style, has put out disco and deep house, as well as adding his own distinctive takes on classic cuts on his own label BridgeBoots. Now he lands on Local Talk with an EP called Hip Hop that once again finds him serving up his singular sonic signature. It features two originals and two versions and the A-side comes compete with swinging drums and a stabby chords that keep the energy bumping while the flip is all about punchy and bumping house jackers.
Review: Originally a white label promo, Mark Knight and Co. are finally letting this one out of the bag. A seriously classy and infectious record from the new UK duo Cashio, "Dancing (With Me)" is a record that's had everyone talking, including some of the worlds top DJs like Annie Mac and Danny Howard to name but a few. A proper, disco-fied funky house anthem (with infectious vocals) that harks back to the glory days of the late '90s popularised by Def Mix, Subliminal and Soulfuric et al - is this a comeback? With the Toolroom crew heading to ADE at the end of the month, we're sure this one will bang the party there, until the later part of 2019 and beyond!
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