Review: Bristol's Shall Not Fade presents this awesome DJ mix by label staple Carlo. The Berlin-based producer serves up several of his own jams amongst some of the label's biggest hits (and near misses!) across 12 tracks. Highlights include Cologne's Djoko with the lo-slung minimal of "Lost In Time", Tilman's disco-tined deep house groove "Say Good Bye", as well as the dream team of Marcel Vogel, Alexandre Arslan & Tim Jules serving up some proper late-night mood music on "If You Don't Love" and ending with KaySoul & Gustavo Martinez's sensual and evocative "Africanus".
Review: Following a decade spent dashing between lesser-celebrated and low-key underground imprints, Carlos "Carlo" Alvarez stepped things up earlier this year via an impressive appearance on hyped Bristol imprint Shall Not Fade. Here he continues to make waves via a first appearance on Pontchartrain and Laurin Fedora's Lovedancing label. Title track 'The Night Forest' is a bustling and excitable affair, with Alvarez peppering a chunky, all-action house groove with snaking sax snippets, deep house riffs, nu-disco electronics and orchestral disco samples. 'Gmork' is a more swirling, squelchy and hot-stepping slab of disco/deep house fusion, while closing cut 'Falkor' combines dreamy, colourful musical flourishes with a sturdy, bass-heavy and peak-time focused house groove.
Review: The latest release on Shall Not Fade's occasional Season Series of EPs comes courtesy of long-established Spanish producer Carlo, whose largely upbeat, escapist dancefloor workouts were apparently recorded in response to "urban seclusion" (lockdowns, basically). There's plenty to admire across the five-tracker, with the Berlin-based artist skipping between bouncy deep house funk ('Sensitive Response'), ear-catching deep synth-pop/deep house fusion (the tactile and spacey 'Where Is Everybody?'), wonky-but-locked-in late-night hypnotism (stand-out 'Noche') and trippy, disco-tinged peak-time sweatiness ('Moving Forward'). The included collaboration with fellow underground hero Retromigration, the ultra-deep 'Earth Two', is also superb.
Review: Experienced producer Carlo Alvarez is in fine form on the Supernatural Providers EP, his first outing of 2021 and Honey Butter label debut. He hits the ground running on opener 'Supernatural Providers', peppering a tactile synth bassline and chunky deep house beats with atmospheric field recordings, Spanish language spoken word vocals, jazzy melodies and warming chords. 'Rabia Y Miel' is a tougher slab of organ-rich deep house of the sort that used to emerge from New Jersey and Italy in the early 1990s, while 'Humble Pie' wraps a sweaty, sub-heavy bassline in energetic house breakbeats and jazz-fired electric piano motifs. Finally, 'Despues De Nunca' sounds like a heady, sunrirse-ready update on the Italian dream house sound with added jazz guitar licks.
Review: To celebrate notching up ten years in the game, London blog and party-turned-record label SlothBoogie has decided to offer-up their most ambitious release to date: an epic collection of previously unheard cuts from a mixture of imprint regulars and like-minded friends. There's naturally plenty to set the pulse racing throughout, with highlights including the sparkling jazz-funk-meets-deep house sunshine of Levan's "U R Beautiful In The Face", the deep, breakbeat-driven dreaminess of Philippa's "That's What I Mean By Free", the piano solo-heavy disco-house bump of Leatherette's "Your Love", and the dub disco-meets-acid house heaviness of "Rewind Run" by Pablot. Throw in similarly impressive contributions from Kassian, Luvless, Casino Times and Soul Wun (the classic jazz-house of "Thank You, St Germain") and you have a must-have collection.
Review: We may not be able to gather to dance outdoors under a blazing sun or a blanket of stars, but there's no harm in a little musical daydreaming. That's what the latest multi-artist Ravenelli Disco Club release is all about: summery escapism that comes with a big dollop of rush-inducing disco release. Ethyene sets the tone with the colourful boogie-house fusion of "Let Love" - all twinkling synth motifs, echoing percussion hits, thickset grooves and hazy vocal samples - before Carlo raises the temperature via some jazzy deep house heaviness in the vein of Derrick Carter's "boompty" era. Over on side B, Hotmood's "Magical Flight" is a surging, string-drenched disco-house roller, while Rees' "The Way You Mood" is a tooled-up take on what sounds like a classic Philadelphia International cut.
Review: Predictably, Suol has gathered together tracks from an impressive list of deep house producers for this expansive first volume in the Hallo Montag 2018 series. German veteran Ian Pooley sets the tone with the jacking, acid-tinged deep house bounce of "Time", before M Ono shows off his synthesizer soloing skills via the glassy-eyed Balearic house brilliance of "Waffelhaus". Iron Curtis's contribution, "The Further You Look", sounds simultaneously low-slung and gently dreamy (it's a fine combination), while Black Loops doff a cap to the greats of disco-house via the funk-fuelled, sample-heavy stomp of "Is This A Banger?" If you're in the mood for something a bit more bumping, the boompty-inspired stomp that is Carlo's "Lluvia" should be right up your alley.
Review: Barcelona's Neovinyl are back following up some great efforts in recent times by the likes of Black Loops and Ouer. It is now over to label head honcho Carlo to provide the grooves. He's now based in Berlin and is letting the sound of his new hometown take hold. From the dusty MPC-driven deep house of "Oshana", to the smooth and sexy soul jam that is "Sugar Sweet Sunshine" that is looped-up to perfection. Finally, he brings the power on the funky and rolling disco house of "Three Days In A Row" which takes its cues from late '90s funky house - not a bad thing by our standards!
Review: With summer fast approaching, Suol has decided to get ahead of the game with an EP chock full of sweltering, sun-kissed deep house treats. Atjazz kicks things off with the rich chord progressions, lilting synthesizer melodies and bouncy drums of sunset-friendly shuffler "Programme Sunlight", before label regulars Chopstick and Johnjon serve up the similarly positive and breezy "Last Night". Elsewhere, Matthias Vogt cranks out the languid, life-affirming pianos and blissful electronics on Balearic house gem "Chanterelle", M.Ono delivers a loved-up twist on loopy disco house, and Carlo drops a chunk of bumpin', bass-heavy goodness blessed with sun-bright guitar flourishes. Best of all, though, is Meggy and Tigerskin's "Bygone Eras", a slick and sultry chunk of sun-bright modern soul.
Review: Carlos "Carlo" Alvarez returns to Good Ratio Music for the first time since 2015, and this time he's got company. All three tracks on Intermission were co-produced by Black Loops, a Berlin-based Italian who has previously released solo material on Toy Tronics and Gruuv. All three cuts here are rich, loose and funk-fuelled, with the duo doing their best to combine carefully chosen disco and jazz-funk samples with their own beats and basslines. The real killer is arguably "Venerdi", in which swirling strings and clipped guitars ride a loose-but-bumpin' disco-house groove. If you're after something altogether deeper, check the clicking drum machine percussion, gentle chords and bubbly electronics of closer "Domenica".
