Bestsellers All Time

Review: Finally! Motor City Drum Ensemble aka Danilow Plessow drops the Raw Cuts series into one neat little package. Ubiquitous in 2009, the series showcased the Stuttgart native's ability to combine warm pads and luscious synths to create a house sound with a decidedly classicist tip. On this EP you'll also find two new jams from the Plessow-produced Jayson Brothers and a couple of new MCDE tracks, the highlight being "Prayer".

Review: Newcomers Luv Shack Records have a simple agenda: to prove that the city of Vienna is home to a hotbed of new production talent. This first split EP, featuring four distinct cuts from some of their homegrown artists, suggests that they could do good things in 2012. LeSale starts things off with "Make Me Feel So Good", a fabulously luxurious chunk of goodtime disco with a distinct soulful twist. Burnin Tears offer a dub fusion of sun-kissed nu-disco and organic deep house, while Jakobin & Domino jack it out with the delightfully bumpin' acid track "Night Glow". A thrilling slab of piano heavy, late night nu-disco from The Beautiful People completes a fine package.

Review: Broadwalk Records, the new label from Bristol house producer Julio Bashmore launches in fine style with the eminently classy Au Seve. Young Bashmore has an obvious talent for productions dripping in hooky qualities (see his still slay em jam "Battle For Middle You" as well as production credits for "Youth Soul" icon Jessie Ware) and "Au Seve" totally belongs in this canon, slipping carnival ready melodic touches and simple vocal loops over a dusted house mainframe dominated by rasping kicks and a killer rising bass line.

Review: The finest moustache bearer since Selleck rocked the TV as Magnum PI returns. That's correct, Sccucci Manucci drop a long awaited second release on the fledgling imprint, enlisting a premier cast of continental friends to lay down some class A discoteria! Securing the talents of Runaway's Jacques Renault is no mean feat for the self styled "purveyors of fine music," and the On The Prowl boss serves up a beefy disco funk edit in the vein of his killer Public Release twelve from last year. In support, a cast of rising UK talent serve note of their budding prowess, with Tenth Circle's Zoo Look indulging in some monstrously expansive beatdown a la The Revenge on the aptly titled "Early Doors". Casino Times provide the "why didn't I think of that" moment with "That's The Truth," a Bashmore style take on the De La Soul & Chaka Khan collab which has been burning up sound systems from London to Petrcane this summer. Young one Picture House ends proceedings with aplomb on "Blaxploitation" a gritty shaker reminiscent of Eddie C in his pomp.

Review: On the Prowl launch their new sub label with help from legendary New York house producer, Marcos Cabral. "OTP Party Breaks Volume 1", which also features collaboration between Cabral and Shux, drops two tracks of the warm, disco flavoured, deep house that is currently making a storm over in New York City.



This first release is poised to set the tone of the whole imprint, who are expected to put out distinctly NY flavoured records from the city's favourite artists and producers. Marcos Cabral from Runaway certainly fits the bill, having also released on the likes of DFA, I'm A Cliche, Muke and Rekids, he is a true legend on the city's house scene. He collaborates with Chinatown Records partner Brennan Green on the EP's opening track, "Lifetime Groove," an epic twelve minute journey through laid back and groovy disco house. It has a classic feel right from the start with a retro bassline but with Balearic overtones and a dubby, feel good sentiment.



On the flip, Cabral lays his hand to Lil Louis' classic garage house track "Club Lonely." It is a simple rework, using straight forward loops and samples. The chord stabs keep the club vibes strong as repetitive saxophone flurries continue to build the tension. Bringing the 90s anthem up to date, Cabral gets a mainstay of Runaway's set on record at long last.



Marcos Cabral brings us a slice of classic New York house on "OTP Party Breaks." By merging the old sounds of the city with the new, he has managed to make a lasting impression in the now. This will get everyone up on their feet.

Review: With Juno Records hitting its tenth release we revisit another classic from the archives of electronic music royalty. Producer, label boss, DJ & remixer extraordinaire, Charles Webster will need no introduction to house music lovers, and it's his 1998 collaboration with renowned UK vocalist Shara Nelson which gets a 2010 touch up. Originally out on the seminal label Pagan, "Sense of Danger" was a real deep house anthem back in '98, so it was imperative to leave it in good hands for the remix duties. And Popular People's Front, Motor City Drum Ensemble, Calibre and Jonno & Tommo all fall into that category. Mysterious disco collective PPF and Stuttgart native MCDE go deep on their mixes, both turning in two killer reworks each. Calibre plumps for a sun-soaked laid back D&B vibe, while Jonno & Tommo keep the pads warm and vocals sleazy. Oh, and there's even the original '98 version in there for good measure!

Review: Sccucci Manucci once again proves its dancefloor chops with its fifth release, the Cinquemila Lire EP, which sees the London based imprint curl its moustache in the direction of deep house. Manchester based duo Toyboy & Robin open proceedings with "No More Sunshine", an insouciant mix of soulful vocals, shuffling garage percussion and burning deep house organ stabs. It's a heady, intoxicating mix, and it's one that's matched on the A-Side by Sahin Meyer's effort; the husband and wife duo turn in the gorgeous "Spread Love", a cut that wrings every last drop of emotion out of a classic, drummy arrangement. Flip over for "Saif" by Illyus, a twinkling late night excursion into melodic, star gazing house, and "Feel Love" by Firas, one half of the Waze & Odyssey, who rounds off another killer Sccucci 12-inch with raw-thentic smacky beats and an addictive loopy vocal and bassline.

Review: With an excellent release on Tusk Wax in his armoury and a notable collaboration with Bicep on their recent Aus EP, Norn Irish lad Ejeca seems primed to follow the trajectory set by the aforementioned burger loving duo. The Horizons EP, his debut for the Needwant imprint sees Ejeca throwing down three tracks that are very much steeped in the same vocal lead New Jersey garage sound that Bicep are currently plundering to great effect, not least on the thickly infectious title track that demonstrates Ejeca's ease for crafting a killer breakdown. "Dazed" eschews the reliance on vocals for some deft chord usage and excellent drum programming, while "See Through You" shimmers with garage indebted warmth.

Review: The ever-rising Mosca makes a logical addition to the Hypercolour canon with his thoroughly contemporary hybrid house sound. The title track on this strong four-tracker looks set to become an omnipresent jam with its nagging synth hook honed for late night devastation, while the beat stays militantly funky thoughout. "Murderous" too taps into this coolly delivered well of nocturnal delight, with just a whisper of garage woven into the sexy swagger of the track. Things get a little snappier on the clipped groove of "Accidentally", bolstered by an arresting turn from the one and only Robert Owens on vocal.

Review: Recloose on Delusions of Grandeur? Yes please! "Don't Get Me Wrong" is classic Matt Cicioine, packed full of his usual musicality and dense, melodic production. It sounds like an unlikely fusion of distant, long-forgotten disco and spine-tingling deep house, with more atmospheric vocal samples and live instruments than you can shake a smelly stick at. It's heady and intoxicating, coming on like a classic house production made somewhere between Detroit and New York. The driving "Shimmy" continues the murky, retro-futurist trend and is just as engaging. As if that wasn't enough, there's also a lovingly fluid, decidedly Balearic rework of the title track from Melbournite Tornado Wallace that's quite possibly the best thing he's done to date. Splendid!

Review: The Sccucci Manucci label has done a fine job of handpicking artists on the rise for their releases to date, collaring the likes of Casino Times, Francis Inferno Orchestra and Toomydisco as well as the odd established name like Jacques Renault. The label's fourth release Forza Quattro is still grounded in the disco/house sensibility that has served them so well, though the presence of Waze & Oddysey demonstrates the Sccucci A & R team are willing to deviate. The elusive US pair are in the midst of a hot patch right now with releases already burning on Body Work and Southern Fried and plenty more due over the coming months, so their presence here is a real coup. "I Can't Hear You" sounds vaguely like a extra bouncy cover of the classic "RIP Groove" and definitely ranks alongside their output to date. The EP also has tempo traversing contributions from Fil Lavin, Sellouts and Deadly Sins, with the latter's slow and chuggy "Don't You Know" a particular highlight.

Review: The underground disco network operated by Under The Shade reaches out to Australia to showcase the sounds of Francis Disco Inferno. Fans of the Wolf Music and Dikso imprints might be familiar with the work of the young Melbourne based producer, and the rest of you will probably make a mental note to keep your ears peeled for future FDI missives on the potential shown here. There's an inherent warmth to the rich piano melodies that filter through "Meet me In Salt Lake City" but the sloppy drum hits give the track an unpolished idiosyncratic feel that's all too absent from contemporary disco tinged house. Soul Clap drag the track back towards proto house territory with a stripped to the bone warehouse rhythmic thrust running throughout, dark pulses of bass augmented by reverberant key stabs and subaqueous melodies. In contrast, the remix from Eddie C embellishes all the elements, dipping the track in a swathe of delightfully bubbling delay.

Review: With remixes from Crosstown Rebels man Maceo Flex and Hot Creations type Danny Daze, Ellum Audio are clearly aiming high with their second release. Bazar's original version of "Hard To Find" is pretty tasty, though, sounding like a delightful high-octane fusion of touchy-feely E-house, off-kilter electronic disco and 80s synth frippery (check the "Blue Monday" syn-voice chords). Plex delivers an even more wide-eyed version, dipping the tempo slightly and contrasting rubbery funk basslines with typically blissful builds. Danny Daze, meanwhile, works a spooky, low-slung groove before throwing in some twinkling pianos and washes of sleazy synths.

Review: Not content with releasing records that pay homage to the sounds of the '90s, Local Talk bosses Mad Mats and Tooli have now signed a tune made by a production act that were last heard of in the '90s (well, 1999). "Breaking", then, is the first Kyodai record for nearly 13 years. It sounds like it was made back then, offering a smooth, piano-laden fusion of alien synths, shuffling beats and cut-up vocal stabs. It's tasty, but the real fun is to be had on the "90s Mix" and "90s Dub", both of which up the organ count in a tribute to mid-'90s New Jersey garage.

Review: Having come to the fore via some rather divisive edits of Dorian Concept, Steve Reich and Mariah Carey, the Stockholm based producer HNNY serves notice of his capacity for original productions with this rather fine release on the Local Talk label. This fifteenth release for Mad Mats' resolutely deep house operation maintains the standards set by previous emissions, and it's easy to see why opening track "For The Very First Time" has already been embraced by HNNY's former overseers Studio Barnhus. That all too authentic take on the early 90s NYC house sound is a good primer for what to expect from hereon in, with the similar equation of pitched vocal snatches craftily twisted around infectious yet simplistic melodic motifs and thick bass lines also characterising "Apricots". Do check the percussive 10 minute long behemoth that is "Trummor" for an example of what else HNNY can do - an expert DJ tool in the mould of how they used to be done, back in those days.

Review: Given the mystery surrounding this release - unnamed "well known London DJ/ producer" joins forces with (also uncredited) "star Bristol musician and vocalist" - it would be easy to let the music pass you by. Yet "It's You" is excellent - arguably one of the strongest Futureboogie releases to date. It eschews the label's usual styles in favour of a low-slung combination of sparse, Hot Creations-ish house rhythms, soul-aching vocals and Prince-ish 80s funk squelch. It's a great combination. Crazy P man Ron Basejam offers a deep and sunny house interpretation, whilst Bristolian housers Eats Everything and Christophe deliver a fluid fusion of disco percussion and bubblin', retro-futurist acid house.

Review: Earlier this year, Dusky duo Alfie Granger-Howell and Nick Harriman popped up on Will Saul's Simple Records, delivering dizzying blends of deep house and garage. Here they re-release "Flo Jam", the lead cut from their recent EP of the same name on Dogmatik. It's a delicious track, all told, sitting somewhere between the crystal clear melodies of Futureboogie Recordings (think Eats Everything, Christophe or Crackazat rather than Julio Bashmore), German deep house and classic Chicagoan acid. There's enough old skool swing to make it interesting, but plenty of contemporary style to impress the hipsters.