Jimpster - "Ceilings" (feat Laura Barrick) - (6:31) 124 BPM
Brian Ring - "Love Taken Over" - (7:21) 123 BPM
Clavis - "Cydalise" - (6:32) 123 BPM
Shur-i-kan - "Beach Life" - (5:59) 122 BPM
Review: Its 20 years of Jamie Odell aka Jimpster's revered deep house imprint and he's celebrating in great style with this 20 track compilation that demonstrates that business is as good as ever and they're testament to how much the label has remained relevant. The label head honcho himself appears of course; first with Luv Jam on the smooth and dubby "We Play Pads" and the sombre and emotive "Ceilings" featuring Laura Barrick. Other highlights include Bulgarian hardware maverick KiNK's "Roads", Detroit Swindle's fiercely bumpin' "Race Against The Machine" and Pittsburgh Track Authority's magnificent high tech soul jam "Oculus Sinister".
Review: The boss is back! The legendary UK pioneer and Bedrock head honcho gives us a live set from Canada's second city, complete with crowd noise. Digweed's knack for sniffing out the most cutting edge progressive and tech house grooves is second to none and you can bet that this set is chock block full of narrative, innovative grooves: one journey you'll never forget! Featuring contributions from Germany's Recondite ("Tame"/"Baro"), Glasgow's Sei A ("You Can Bring"), Berlin's Smash TV ("Cascadia"/"God Key") and Los Angeles' Eagles & Butterflies amongst a host of other big names. Also comes as six continuous mixes for your listening pleasure. Enjoy!
Review: Given his previous productivity, Andre Lodemann has been rather quiet of late, with his last release of note being the Coming My Way EP on DFTD in 2014. Here, he hits back hard, dropping an impressive two-tracker for Dixon's increasingly dark Innervisions outlet. While virtual flipside "Between The Notes" is particularly stripped back and wonky - think 10 minutes of throbbing, minimal-influenced grooves, epic builds and, eventually, spine tingling backwards strings - it's title track "Leaving The Comfort Zone" that really hits the spot. While similarly stretched-out in mindset, it's altogether tougher, and the minor key melodies a little spookier. It's also rather psychedelic, despite the presence of what sounds like a sly guitar sample from Odyssey's version of "Going Back To My Roots".
Caest Moi - "From A Bird's Eye View" (original mix) - (7:30) 125 BPM
Alex Blaxx - "It's Been Done Before" (original mix) - (6:43) 120 BPM
Review: Steve Bug's Dessous has for the better part of fifteen years been almost like his diffusion label from the more popularly known Poker Flat Recordings. Here the focus is on his other love: slinky, sexy, deep house for night people. All the usual tech house suspects are here on this compilation such as Greek up and comer Echnomist, Get Physical's Jona and legend Andre Lodemann and all deliver the exact same quality they can be relied upon for. But the main highlights here are undoubtedly; Caset Moi with "This Song" providing early evening grooves for the fashion crowd, Mihai Popoviciu's remix of Phonique and Acumen's "The Moment" with its smooth, rolling bassline and deep druggy vibe essential for any trendy after party. Oh and there's Andrade's 'Egregius', a euphoric peak time builder that's guaranteed to be working a dancefloor near yours soon!
Review: "Imagine" is an apt title for deep house stalwart Andre Lodemann's latest effort. Blessed with all manner of intricate musical touches - loose jazz drums, sneaky guitars, dreamy freestyle vocals, deep chords and bubbling electronics - it appears to be the product of a particularly vivid imagination. This is no bad thing; it eschews the standard deep house formula, instead delivering something far more interesting, involving and, dare we say it, playable. The similarly melodic and drifting "Eyes Wide Open" tightens up the grooves, but retains a picturesque air of natural majesty. For those seeking more straightforward pleasures, Alix Alvarez's rework of "Eyes Wide Open" bulks up the beats in pursuit of chunky, melodic deep house delights.
Review: Amazingly, it's been eight long years since the release of Freerange's first Colour Series compilation ("Yellow"). A few things have changed in that time for Jimpster's label, but his commitment to musically rich deep house remains. That's much in evidence here, particularly on the contributions from Andre Lodemann, fast-rising starlet Mic Newman and Jimpster himself (whose woozy "Late Night Blues" is his best for some time). There's also a distinct old skool feel to some of the cuts, with Alexkid's percussive "Class of 95" and Milton Jackson's robust "DS1" offering plenty of vintage US house flavour. The real standout, though, is Arithmetic's' "Time", which sounds like a long lost deep house anthem.
Review: Having previously starred for Freerange in 2010, Andre Lodemann returns to Jimpster's 15-year-old imprint for another burst of blissful deep house with a dancefloor twist. While slowly building lead cut "Riven Reminiscences" will get most of the plaudits - and dancefloor plays - its bonus cut "Together" that really sparkles. Featuring dubbier percussion, bubbling electronics and, crucially, weary pianos, it's a truly heart-aching fusion of tear-jerking deep house elements. There's also a delightfully upbeat remix of the title track from San Soda, who successfully mixes jacking and deep elements with some seriously hooky piano riffs and electronic stabs.
Review: Electronic music is often defined as being apolitical and entirely self-serving, but in this time of existential crisis for Japan, it shows that dance producers not only have a conscience, but care deeply about the country. There have been a number of initiatives already within electronic music to raise funds for Japanese earthquake/tsunami victims, and the act of helping is the overarching concern here. However, hopefully when you do decide to purchase this Kompakt compilation, you will get the added bonus of ghostly ambience from Marsen Jules and Ezekiel Honig, playful, offbeat house from Efdemin, eerie minimal house from SCSI-9 and Nick Hoppner, and Anontelli's playful electronic pulses - as well as feeling good about supporting a beleaguered nation.
