The currently unstoppable Harley D flips the switch and goes super deep for this exceptional EP on Classified. Usually throwing around mad energy and big riff dynamics, 'In The Darkness' shows the other side of the UK south coast talent as he strips things right back to a place of tension throughout the EP. The title track is all about those big deep rumbling subs, 'Tracers' gets a purring contemporary neuro growl on while 'Questions' plays good cop/ bad cop with your soul, brain and dancing feet. Other highlights include the skippy momentum and tension of 'Believe' and the unabashed glacial grizzles of 'Ice'. In the badness.
The Future Disco crew has thrown open the doors to their imaginary 'Mirrorball Motel', a roadside hotel for disco misfits that's far more glamorous than it is sleazy (unlike most real-life motels). The 20-track musical accompaniment takes disco, boogie and nu-disco and bends it into fresh new shapes, with plenty of excitable house grooves and funk-fuelled peak-time workouts. Highlights include, but are in no way limited to, the Reflex's squelchy rework of Roisin Murphy's 'Incapable', the hands-in-the-air rush of Saison's 'Rocinate', a fine neo-Italo throb-job from Breakbot & Yuksek ('Taqa'), the glassy-eyed Balearic disco/deep house fusion of Bondax ('Don't Want It') and the yacht disco-influenced sunshine of 'Strangers' by Kosmo Kint and Kapote.
Dam Swindle's Keep On Swindling series, which marks their tenth birthday, offers an enticing mix of remastered back catalogue favourites, obscurities, brand-new cuts and fresh remixes of classic tracks. This expansive second volume in the series is full-to-bursting with club-ready treats. Check first the gospel-influenced, handclap-heavy peak-time house stomp of 'Good Woman', before turning your attention to 'Call of the Wild', an often-overlooked collaboration with LA Afrobeat orchestra Jungle By Night that cannily combines the best of both artists' trademark sounds. Other highlights across the EP include the Dutch duo's percussion-rich tropical house takes on Gaoule Mizik's 'A La Tikni', Arp Frique's Afro-cosmic take on 'Yes, No, Maybe', and Lauryn Ash's tidy deep house flip of Lorenz Rhode hook-up 'High Life'.
It's Dirtybird's favourite time of year when their annual flagship event returns for another weekend long campout. As always, they have a brand new soundtrack for the 2022 edition featuring 10 new jams from a wide range of artists on the label. Berlin-based Kevin Knapp kicks things off with the druggy afterhours bounce of "Dope Kid Central", label staple Justin Jay teams up with Lindsay Lohand on the lo-slung and bass-driven groove of "Want", while legend Mark Farina teams up with Homero Espinosa on the emotive 303 acid of "Falling Forward" and 2phargon serves up the wonky dancefloor drama of "Petrol" among many more.
On Side Effects, Red Rooms continues a fine run of Planet Rhythm releases that started with 2021's Cosmic Interference. "Radiation" gets this EP off to a frenetic start, with tough tribal beats underpinning cold, layered synths, while on the title track, a similarly high-tempo approach applies, this time led by driving percussion and a churning filter. "Black Holes" sees Red Rooms veer in a different direction, with cold, tonal bleeps unfolding over a stripped back, steely rhythm, while Side Effects also reveals a dubby edge to this talented producer's sound as hypnotic, eerie synths swirl over a cavernous groove and tough drums.
Kerri Chandler's first album of original productions since 2008 is an epic in every sense of the word: a vast, 24-track excursion recorded on location in a multitude of clubs around the world, with each track inspired by, and specifically designed to sound best inside, each of the selected venues. It's basically a love letter to some of his favourite clubs, created with guest vocalists and musicians, and is little less than a deep house masterpiece. There are far too many highlights to mention, but our current favourites include the bassbin-rattling bump of 'Subbie (Jackpot Mix) [Sub Club]', the heart-aching soulful house brilliance of 'Back To Earth [Knockdown Center]', the sax-sporting funkiness of 'The Morning Heat [La Grange]', the sunrise-ready beauty of 'Who Knows [Barbarellas]' and the Berlin-friendly deep house hypnotism of 'Sunrise [Watergate]'.
