Review: Well, we all know by now that Circus Recordings was set up by the legendary Yousef and named after his world-renowned club event Circus, in his hometown of Liverpool. The in-house label has been doing the business for a while now, presenting us future British heroes in the form of Lewis Boardman, Krankbrother and Ki Creighton in recent times. It's now over to their newest recruits on Selector pt 5 where young gun Bontan gets straight into it with the funky and sexy tech house of "C'est Moi" which is reminiscent of classic Greg Fenton or D'julz. Next up, Lee Walker presents "2am At Medicine Bar" which does exactly what it says on the tin; taking you to a sweaty dancefloor in the legendary Middleborough club. Adrenalised tech house aimed squarely at the last night once again from Napoli's DJ Dep on "Hot Vibe", while Glasgow's finest Illyus & Barrientos give us the hands in the air anthem "Galvanized" complete with diva vocals, cowbells and euphoric house organs galore.
Review: Illyus & Barrientos are the rising Scottish tech-house duo that are staples of top labels DFTD and Glasgow Underground, who had a breakthrough year in 2018. They kickstart this year with a future anthem on the label they now call home: Toolroom. The new thriller is entitled "Shout" named after the pitched-up diva vocals throughout that will no doubt whip the crowd into a frenzy. This in combination with a tough rolling, bass-driven groove that is aimed squarely at peak time dancefloors in the main room. Hit prediction right here - expect to be hearing it a lot in 2019 for sure.
Review: It's this mix of one part hip hop DJ and the other a classically trained piano player that has seen this fast rising Glaswegian duo release on heavyweight labels such as Toolroom, Defected, Suara, Exploited and Glasgow Underground. Big Love label boss Seamus Haji is said to have been a long time supporter of them, so he quickly snapped up this three track EP once it came his way. Disco Distractions EP draws upon the duo's boogie, funk and disco influences. Starting off with the filtered main room stomper that is "Total Distraction" which reminds us of the late nineties heyday when French Touch specialists Cassius or the UK's legendary Pete Heller reigned supreme. For something deeper they offer up the smooth "Tell Me Something" which again really works that filter to build up something really special, on this emotive late night groove for sexy night people.
Purple Disco Machine/Lorenz Rhode - "Birds" - (4:35) 122 BPM
Danye S - "In The Streets" - (6:49) 122 BPM
Review: Shir Khan's Black Jukebox series rolls ever onwards, in the process serving up another bumper selection of groovy house cuts built around extensive disco samples. This 15th edition begins with a pair of collaborations between Illyus and Barrientos: the disco goes stadium house pump of "Camel Brotha", and "Just Bad Shit", where the duo teases out a killer groove before whipping off the shirt and going disco crazy in the closing minutes. In contrast, Purple Disco Machine and Lorenz Rhode's sunny filter disco jam "Birds" feels breezy despite its' loopy construction, while Danye S's contribution, "In The Streets", is hazy, blissful and soft focus. Its' glistening guitar lines are particularly delightful.
Review: Shir Khan's Black Jukebox series rolls ever onwards, in the process serving up another bumper selection of groovy house cuts built around extensive disco samples. This 15th edition begins with a pair of collaborations between Illyus and Barrientos: the disco goes stadium house pump of "Camel Brotha", and "Just Bad Shit", where the duo teases out a killer groove before whipping off the shirt and going disco crazy in the closing minutes. In contrast, Purple Disco Machine and Lorenz Rhode's sunny filter disco jam "Birds" feels breezy despite its' loopy construction, while Danye S's contribution, "In The Streets", is hazy, blissful and soft focus. Its' glistening guitar lines are particularly delightful.
Wankelmut - "Toolroom House Party Vol 5" (mixed By Wankelmut) - (1:17:26) 125 BPM
TCTS - "Toolroom House Party Vol 5" (mixed By TCTS) - (1:16:29) 126 BPM
Siege - "Toolroom House Party Vol 5" (mixed By Siege) - (1:17:47) 126 BPM
Review: Despite the setbacks brought forth by the pandemic, we're confident that Toolroom will still have a stellar year as always! With that in mind, the fifth edition in their 'House Party' series' looks to be the biggest yet, with a whopping 70 tracks to keep the party going for days on end. As a bonus, label signees such as Wankelmut, TCTS and Siege (who appear with contributions to the compilation personally) provide a continuous mix each - bringing the party to your house. Other highlights come from a wide variety of artists within the tech/house spectrum such as: legends Technasia and Green Velvet with the aforementioned Siege on the mighty "Suga" (Siege extended mix), the ascendant Luxembourger Amii Watson with the sensual mood music of "Higher" and the Fuse London affiliated Rich NxT teaming up with minimal techno vetran Christian Burkhardt on the slinky and hypnotic "Basics" - plus many more.
Review: Toolroom deliver the 2021 instalment of their flagship 'This Is Toolroom' series, featuring a trio of collaborations from label chief Mark Knight, who with Siege delivers the funky house thriller "Give It Up", the peak time tribal tech house workout "Shift Phazed" (with Frederick & Kusse) and bridging the gap between the two styles on the riveting vocal-led closer "Only You" with Tuff London. Elsewhere, there's new music from label staples such as: Illyus & Barrientos & Danny Howard who throw down the main room energy of "Feel Ma Boogie" Rene Amesz who gets seriously deep on the low slung "Open Wide", plus the ever reliable Maxinne who teams up with Moya on the early noughties Statside house vibe of "In The Groove".
Review: Mark Knight & Co.round out the year with 'Best Of Toolroom 2020', a 50 track compilation delivering a collection of the label's biggest releases from the year that was into one package. Boss man Knight teams up with Rene Amesz on the year's most massive funky house tune "All 4 Love" (feat. Tasty Lopez) with other highlights coming from: Carl Cox on his stomping heads-down rework of Kevin Knapp & Hannah Wants "Call Me", the anthemic and utterly uplifting soul of legends Gene Farris & ATFC's "Spirit of House" plus the return of the legendary American vocalist Ann Nesby - whose unmistakable voice dominates LEFTI's "Rejuvenate". There's also the worthy addition of two continuous mixes by Mr Knight himself. 'Best Of Toolroom 2020' delivers the perfect annual sign off, as the label prepares for yet another landmark year in 2021.
Review: An outlet for both unreleased and exclusive music from the label's family members alongside rising talents, this is the fourth instalment of Toolroom's popular 'House Party' series. Featuring standout releases from Mark Knight's label plus the scene's biggest imprints, with highlights coming from: industry heavyweights Nic Fanciulli & Andrea Oliva on the slinky "Medium Rare", the inimitable Yousef with the pounding acid of "Save Me" (feat. Molly Green), legend Todd Terry with TCTS on the boompty bounce of "Get Freaky" and UK tech house hero Seb Zito delivering the peak time stomper "Don't Stop". As if that was not enough, there are also three continuous mixes by scene stalwarts such as Lefti, Piero Pirupa and label staple Maxinne.
Review: On 'House Party Vol. 3' the party continues well into autumn with Toolroom's unmistakable blend of killer cuts, red hot exclusives and a host of essential tracks from the industry's leading imprints. Includes a whopping 80 tracks, plus three compiled mixes from current scene favourites such as Kittball co-owners Tube & Berger, Dutch house favourite Rene Amesz, and rising UK talent Iglesias. Highlights not limited to: boss man Mark Knight with the aforementioned Amesz on the funky house anthem "All 4 Love" (feat. Tasty Lopez), Hannah Wants & Eskuche serve up some slick and bouncy electro house on "The ISH", the dream team of Alex Mills, Danny Howard & Illyus & Barrientos delivering a properly soul-infused vocal epic on "Need" (Extended Mix) and the legend ATFC returns with the super sexy "Not Enough" feat. Mia Mendez.
Review: Toolroom is back with the second instalment of the 'House Party' series, with Chicago veteran Gene Farris, the enigmatic Wh0 and ascendant duo Raumakustik closing out the summer in style with their respective mixes. Featuring 80 tracks from leading international names including Carl Cox who goes for a minimal vibe on his remix of Hannah Wants & Kevin Knapp's "Call Me", Hot Since 82 serves up something different than usual on the summertime vibe of "Rise", Saved chief Nic Fanciulli gets some spiritual and life-affirming vibes in effect on "Virgo", Hamburg disco stu Tensnake gives Dombresky & Boston Bun's "Stronger" a neon-lit makeover and label boss Mark Knight impresses with the funky house anthem "Tonight" ft. Chenai and Mr. V.
Review: Following up the 'T1'experiment back in 2015, Toolroom reboots the concept to celebrate their artists' talents and challenge them creatively. With many in isolation across the world, 'T2' will act to raise money for Covid-19 relief funds, with a percentage of profits going to charity. Much like the last edition - which was an album of new and exciting collabs from their label roster - label boss Mark Knight picked the collaborations totally at random during a Facebook Live broadcast, resulting in some 'out-of-the-box experiments and sure-fire bangers.' Highlights include: KC Lights who teams up with Kitball's Juliet Sikora on the soulful sax-driven shuffle of "Tonight", the man himself Mark Knight teaming up with Tuff London and Cagney & Lacey to bring back funky house with a vengeance on "Don't Give Up", while Romanian label staples Sllash & Doppe likewise turn in some late '90s styled filtered disco funk on "Burnin'" and the ascendant Maxinne teams up with Mizbee, Amine Edge & DANCE on the tough rolling main room stomper "What U Say".
