A friend in need is a friend indeed but a friend with a really good music collection, some decks, a love for the party is definitely better... Especially when they're packing the excellent Top Cat reboots that Streetlife have been spraying these days. Following weekly spark-ups we're now treated to the whole album-sized collection. Remixes come from the highest of grade: Kleu, Harley D, Upgrade, Deekline, Leaf, Liondub, Serial Killaz And the songs themselves are some of the most iconic jungle lyrics of all time. Highlights include Klue's joker-smoker blasting fire up of 'Friend In Need', Fleck's savage jungle mash-up of 'Pirate Radio' and the hurricane-like shake-up of 'Mr Undertaker' from Liondub.
Why Tonbe isn't more widely renowned is a mystery: for my money, he's one of the most accomplished and consistent producers working in the modern disco arena. And oh BOY does he have a way with a drawn-out stab! He proves the latter once more on 'Come Around', a midtempo jam that you can call disco, soul or boogie as you see fit, and which comes with or without the harmonised male and female vocals. There are some superb jazz keys on 'Late Night Burbon', too, but the stone-cold killer is 'I Wanna Be With You' - file under "deep, smooth, sultry, gorgeous".
Acclaimed British producer Kieran Hebden returns under the Four Tet alias with two new tracks on his Text imprint. The result is "Mango Feedback", a hypnotising house journey presented in his idiosyncratic style where a sublime sitar melody plays centre stage, underpinned by an infectious UK garage rhythm. For something a bit more different, the second offering "Watersynth" is an exploration in downbeat ambient sounds that will have you in a state of blissful freefall.
Toolroom Vaults Vol 5 reprises secret weapons, hidden gems and club heaters that have been staples in label boss Mark Knight's sets for over 10 years, shaping up to be another choice album for many crate-diggers alike. Highlights include legend Harry Romero & Alex Fioretti's stomping heads-down groove "Think Outside The Box", Rene Amesz & Jasper Clash's tribal house workout "Phatty", Matt Smallwood serving up some late night mood music on the deep cut "How Does It Feel" and D-Formation & Solarc's uplifting house epic "In Your Mind" among many more.
The Cocoon compilation series has become an unofficial state of the nation statement for modern house and techno, and the latest instalment is no exception. It features deep, Detroit styled grooves from Damiano van Erckert and Stephen Brown alongside more accessible minimal house from Claude Von Stroke and murky, analogue jams, including the layered, dubbed out Daniel Avery track, "Your Future Looks Different in the Light". The compilation series has also been successful in spotlighting emerging artists, and volume T is no exception, as it shines a light on Yokto's bass-heavy deep house and the swaggering electro-techno of Defekt's "Terraform".
Following the release of his gloriously joyous, retro-futurist Sanctuary EP on Hot Haus Records, former Houndstooth regular Mark Hawkins returns to Aus Music with another quietly impressive four-track outing. He first joins the dots between loopy, DJ Sneak style deep house and sparkling, hands-aloft piano house on the festival friendly rush of 'I Can Feel It (Extended Mix)', before reaching for vintage style synthesiser chords and undulating acid bass on the gorgeous 'What a Beat'. 'Led Astray' sees him break up the beats impressively while soothing the senses with sci-fi synths and Motor City bass, while 'Lucid Dreaming' sees him add energetic piano riffs and glassy-eyed techno bleeps to a surging, peak-time ready rhythm.
