Tags: Chicago House

Review: For the first reference, Sounds of The City is happy to welcome the mysterious Spirit Of The Black 808, responsible for one of the hottest pieces of wax in 2013 for Eargasmic Recordings in Chicago. Invasion Of The Black Bass is also following the Eargasmic record in terms of style. It's warm in every way and infectious. Let's get invaded with Invasion of the Black Bass and Invasion of the Black House. Both tracks share the same chords grid, one could be a re-interpretation of the other. Both are very warm and melodic. Frenzy In Firenze on the other side demonstrates SB8's skills for groovy tools and more DJ oriented tunes.

Review: For the latest volume in their Foundations series on BBE, Kai Alce and DJ Spinna have decided to reissue one of the finest records from the earliest days of Chicago house, Chip-E's spellbinding 1985 anthem "Like This". This seven-inch edition features a fresh edit of Chip-E's original cub mix on the A-side. This version is essential largely because of the quality of K-Joy's impeccable vocal, though the re-mastered sound also makes Chip-E's crunchy Roland drum machine hits, bold synth-bass and spacey lead lines sound better than ever. Turn to the flip for the heavy and stripped-back "DDD Dub" version, which makes more use of the short "Like This" vocal, which was originally provided by the Godfather of House himself, Frankie Knuckles.

Review: Maddjazz is an emerging talent from the hallowed streets of Chicago. After two head-turning tunes on Groove Access last May, he now makes a solo debut on the Midway Hustle label that confirmed what we already thought: he's got skill. These five tunes show his range with opener 'Everyday Of My Life' being an early evening deep house roller with soulful vocals dusty production. 'Rain Dance' is a more gritty wall-beater while 'Terror' brings late night acid jack that is primed and ready to destroy any warehouse. kings get deep on the flip with our favourite, the misty late night burner that is 'Those Eyes', then the booming kicks and smeared cosmic chords of 'Y'All Feel That'. Another great outing for this new school Chicagoan.

Review: The Afro Acid Plastik label has been doing a fine job of carrying new and retrospective works from DJ Pierre, with the most recent focus being on extensive remix packages around the iconic 'Acid Track'. This fourth installment comes with a slightly heavy heart as fellow Chicago titan Paul Johnson leads the way with his 'Jack Nation' remix pumping out while his sad passing still weighs on our minds. Elsewhere, Marko Nastic, Shinedoe, Zombie Nation and NUDE all deliver versions which pay tribute to the legacy of one of the most important club tracks of all time.

Review: Spencer Kincy takes us back to 94 as part of his four EP series that documents the first run of Gemini EPs on Green Velvet's seminal Relief Records imprint. Still as ahead of their time as they were almost 25 years ago, "The Beginning" is wildly off grid, loose and insanely funky while the rest of the EP gradually morphs into breath taking technoid experiments "Floating" takes a high NRG feel with its looping insistency "Klonopin" and its edited sibling "Klonopinless" offer a full physical sensation with their brazen hypnotic loopiness. Watch out for the other remaining three...

Review: Woody McBride's Sounds label continues to dive back in the archives and revive some absolute gold standard techno for modern diggers. This collab effort between McBride (in his DJ ESP guise) and DJ Skull originally came out in 1995, and it still sounds fierce to this day. 'The Drive' is a stripped down tool with all the right chops to tweak out a locked-in raver, but 'G-Rated' is the real gem on the record. In a blistering hailstorm of 303 squelch you get a definitive example of acid techno at its finest. 'The Power' might well find relevance in the present day trance-techno scene thanks to its unsettling leads and relentless forwards thrust.

Review: This soulful, busy, heated and sultry 12" vinyl record features the work of two of Chicago's most eminent producers around today. On production duties comes Vick Lavender and Carlos Mena, and they're complemented by vocalist Amma Whatt (who appears on the cover), with respect to making a funky housey tribute to soul and jazz and bossa nova, producing a steamy whirlwind of a track that is hard to place, yet stellar. The various mixes are up-front and mega-roomy, but Whatt's vocals hit softly despite.