Review: Two years on from the release of his popular debut album, Roots, Dennis Cruz returns to Crosstown Rebels with an EP that mixes top-notch solo tracks with a couple of eye-catching collaborations. In the former category you'll find fine title track 'Snake Charmer', an exotic, intoxicating and tribal-tinged chunk of early morning 'ethno-house' that subtly builds in intensity throughout, and the dark, hushed and hypnotic tech-house of 'Time Out'. Elsewhere, Cruz first joins forces with label boss Damian Lazarus and guest DJ Holographic on 'Revolution', a kind of 21st century tech-house update of the Dance Mania ghetto-house sound, before collaborating with Ian Ludvig on the wonky, mind altering and darkened pulse of 'Pain Away'.
Review: MUSE co-founder Dennis Cruz has cemented his reputation as one of global dance music's most esteemed talents, in a career that spans decades. He returns to Crosstown Rebels with the Los Tamales two tracker, which precedes the forthcoming full length which will drop on the label in October. The title track is a salsa-inspired cut that rolls deep and features Yazaneth's signature Spanish vocals. Second offering "Monkey Business" benefits from a more minimal arrangement and dubby bass and makes for perfect tackle for the warm-up or afterhours alike.
Review: Something of a meeting of minds here, as long-established Spanish producer Dennis Cruz (Stereo Productions, Hot Creations, Moon Harbour Recordings) joins forces with fellow deep house/tech-house fusionist Josh Butler (Madtech, Defected, Rejected), for a joyous bounce through carnival-ready Latin house. 'Ahora Tado Ba' sneakily uses portions from what sounds like an old Latin jazz record, brilliantly weaving them around a bouncy, drum-heavy samba-house groove. It's an insanely infectious cut and one that we're fully expecting to hear tons over the summer. It comes backed by a drawn-out, loved-up tech-house take from Gorgon City that's arguably far more emotive than Cruz and Butler's original, if a little less urgent, energetic and funky.
Review: Dennis Cruz's musical journey has seen him receive accolades for his output, with a number of awards and nominations including Best Producer in 2017's DJ Awards and releasing on influential imprints like Solid Grooves, Moon Harbour and Hot Creations. For his new one on Damian Lazarus' Crosstown Rebels imprint entitled "Uhuru", he teams up with fellow Spaniards Delmar and Alvaro aka aka Los Suruba for some deeply meditative and trance-inducing deepness - perfect for a shamanic ritual. He then flies solo on the hypnotic afterhours tech house of "Los Libros" which features some sweltering polyrhythms with truly scintillating Latin vocals. Closing it out is the dirty, tough rolling jacker "Loco" which proves this top producer can rock the main room too!
Review: According to our meticulous records, "My Hood" is the first collaborative single from sometime Relief Records and Monologue Music producer LEON, and recent Hot Creations signing Dennis Cruz. It sees them drag hip-house into the 21st century, layering a swaggering half rapped, half sung vocal atop a rubbery, driving backing track rich in fuzzy bass, rolling percussion and deliciously odd electronic noises. While good, we'd argue that Ewan Pearson's accompanying reworks are even better. Both the "Remix" and "Dub" versions operate at a slower, more chugging tempo, with the experienced producer wrapping mind-altering, psychedelic electronics and delay-laden dub-disco guitars atop a chunky, Italo-disco influenced groove. The "Dub" is naturally the more intoxicating of the two, though it's a close run thing.
Review: Madrid's Dennis Cruz has released previously on Snatch!, Saved, Stereo Productions, Material, Deeperfect, Glasgow Underground.. need we say more? He is back on Suruba with "Bad Behaviour", a deep rolling and booming main groove groove featuring a sampled dialogue elaborating on the perils of our daily vices! "Shake It" features a bangin' and funky tech house workout after that massive drop; wait 'til you hear this! Finally "Mr Fox" appears twice; the original version is a brooding and muscular pre-peak time weapon that will appeal to fans of Carlo Lio or Julian Jeweil while the remix by Siopsis afterwards takes the track down more of a deeper progressive house route, which is an epic journey indeed.
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