Review: As part of Heist Recordings' ongoing 10th birthday celebrations, label founders Dam Swindle have decided to showcase some of the 'Hidden Gems' lurking in the imprint's back catalogue. It's a smart move, because there's plenty of high-grade dancefloor heat to be found across the 15 under-celebrated tracks on show. For proof, check the squelchy synth-bass, rushing piano riffs and classic house vibes of Fouk's 'Truffles', the gorgeous sci-fi techno melodiousness of Lord of the Samurai's 'Space Designer', the sun-splashed, jazz-flecked excellence of Crackazat's 'We Know', the low-slung, drum machine driven headiness of Adesse Versions' 'Push It Along' and the drowsy, soul-flecked late-night deepness pf Marina Trench and Sabrina Bellaouel's 'Wake Up'.
Review: Shall Not Fade rounds off its busiest year to date with a sixth anniversary compilation that's packed to the rafters with previously unreleased tracks from its now sizable family of artists. Also reflective of the sounds showcased by Shall Not Fade's various sub-labels and offshoots, the 24-track set confidently strides between deep two-step (Black Loops), saucer-eyed ambient jungle (Kessler), colourful deep house (Lis Sarocca), lo-fi jack tracks (Cinthie), loopy disco-house (Adelphi Music Factory), jazz-funk flavoured house warmth (Felipe Gordon), analogue-rich broken beat (Yosh), post-UKG heaviness (DJ Crisps), jaunty and jazzy 4/4 garage (DJ Swagger) and the kind of smile-inducing, huggable dancefloor goodness that defies simple categorization (Tilman and Phonk D).
Review: Last year, London DJ crew and party promotion outfit SlothBoogie delivered one of the compilations of the year, a wonderfully eclectic and on-point set entitled Dancing With Friends. According to the crew, they spent even more time carefully curating this welcome sequel. You can tell, too. Kicking off with the tactile, slow-burn deep house yearning of Soul Won's '96 to Albert Park', the 21-track collection ambles, strides and jogs between soul-flecked deep house (see Kemback's brilliant 'I Know What You're Thinking'), driving nu-disco (Jesse Bru), swirling deep jackers (Erik Ellmann's 'Private Talk'), loopy disc-house haziness (the always excellent Felipe Gordon), jazz-flecked acid squelch-alongs (Pablot), deep space sample house (Sam Irl) and high-octane, peak-time insanity (The Revenge). Simply brilliant.
Review: While it may have been designed to reflect the evolving nature of the label's sound over the last half-decade, Shall Not Fade's fifth anniversary compilation is nevertheless packed to the rafters with previously unheard treats. It begins with a techno-tempo blast of garage-influenced deep house warmth from DJOKO and ends with the dark, squelching and ghostly bounce of Dart's 'Transformations'; in between, you'll find 19 more reasons to be cheerful with plenty of serious dancefloor chops. Undisputed highlights include the crunchy, head-nodding pleasure of GVRL's instrumental hip-hop jam 'Love Game', the angular and acid spiked tech-breaks of Harrison BDP's 'The Powerful Play', the drowsy deep house dreaminess of Mutual Attraction's 'MPC Live Track 1' and the rushing rave revivalism of Baltra's killer re-fix of Earth Boys' 'I'm Not Afraid'.
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.
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