Serious collab business as Simon Splice returns to his Exile alias for two big old bruisers on DJ Hybrid's Audio Addict. 'Rattle Speaker' sees him linking with the ubiquitous Manchester MC, man like Madrush for a stripped back and spiky thumper that's all gritty and growling. Deeper again we slurp down some premium uncut jungle juice as Exile links with the bossman DJ Hybrid for 'Junglist Sound'. Expect nothing but high grade bubbly subs and breezy detuned synth tones. Vibes for miles.
The 10th release from Javi Frias' Night Shift label comes from Ibiza-based Solazz, who serves up four very solid disco/funk jams. 'Work It Out' kicks things off in decidedly Rick James-esque mode, before 'Time's Burning' takes us down a slightly more soulful route while rocking a 'Disco's Revenge'-like bassline. 'Roller Skate INC' comes next and calls to mind Vaughan Mason & Crew's 'Bounce, Rock, Skate, Roll', before finally we come to the title track, the unsurprisingly Afro-inspired 'Highlife Music'. Whether these four cuts should be framed as re-edits or original productions isn't entirely clear, but there's no doubting their dancefloor appeal.
Man-of-the-moment Felipe Gordon was little more than a Columbian producer with promise when he first appeared on Razor N Tape Reserve back in 2019. Since then, he's chalked up impressive, jazz-funk influenced deep house releases for all manner of high-profile labels including Heist, Local Talk and Shall Not Fade. This belated return to Razor N Tape is great, too. Opener 'Strings of the Afterline' is pleasingly hazy and dreamy whilst boasting Gordon's usual synth-heavy squelch, while 'The Fall of a Withered Empire' is a rare vocal number with a deep jazz-house feel. Elsewhere, 'Classico' is a bouncy, classic-sounding deep house bounce-along rich in sparkling synth riffs, while 'Julia Y Lewis' is a more languid and laidback chunk of jazz-sampling, funk-fuelled deep house haziness.
Diynamic's Four to the Floor EP series has seen the Hamburg labelconsistently introduce a brand new selection of talents to the world. Its 22nd edition in the series features Ivan Masa with the entrancing raindance of "Borderline" which reaches near tribal moments, while "Dance" by Haze-M (feat. Zanjma) takes the best elements of classic Stateside house and minimal techno into one sweltering groove. Elsewhere, British duo FOTN & Marsden bring on the neon-lit dark disco vibes on "Commodore" and finally Aldebaran appears with "A New Mistake" - a hypnotic acid groove to that allows you to just let go.
For its third release, Cogo brings together some of techno's most talented producers. Stanislav Tolkachev's "Tell The Truth And Run" revolves around firing percussion and tough kicks, with these elements providing the basis for tweaked tones. In contrast, Inigo Kennedy ventures down a less visceral route for "Lucid"; peppered with his signature evocative tones and featuring a pulsating bass and subtle acid squelches, the combination makes for a hypnotic sound. Meanwhile, Samuli Kemppi proves why he is one of Europe's most respected techno artists as he delivers the dubbed out "Trees Below Surface", while Tonske delivers a darker take on underground sounds with the menacing groove of "Obscure".
First featured on long-serving British band Osibisa's 2021 album New Dawn, 'Yo Luv is Betta' is a glistening, life-affirming chunk of Afro-soul cheeriness rich in shuffling, Tony Allen style drums, sparkling High-Life guitars and warming horns. Who better to remix it, then, than Masters at Work man Louie Vega? He joins forces with Josh Milan on a handful of fine revisions, including the deliciously percussive Afro-house bounce of the pair's main remix and a 'Celebration Mix' that sticks more closely to the band's original version (which, frustratingly, isn't featured on this remix set). Vega's own musically detailed, Sitar-sporting 'NYC Expansions Dub' and a variety of instrumental revisions make up a rock-solid package.
