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: 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.
Review: Glasgow Underground have played the consummate matchmaker as they pair up Illyus and Barrientos for two superb deep house compositions. "Do Anything You Wanna" is a sprightly slice of timeless house thanks to its sensuous vocal and big synth hook. "The Times We Shared" meanwhile is a touch darker and destined for big rooms, as the vocal provides loopy infectiousness and the beats chug well into tomorrow. Both kill it.
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: 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.
The Dealer & Space Motion - "Push" - (6:38) 126 BPM
Saccao & Anturage - "Cyclops" - (6:47) 123 BPM
Agatha Pher - "My Only Way" - (6:53) 123 BPM
Kevin McKay - "Glasgow Underground Ibiza 2017: 1AM - 2AM" (continuous DJ mix 1) - (1:09:16) 123 BPM
Kevin McKay - "Glasgow Underground Ibiza 2017: 2AM - 3AM" (continuous DJ mix 2) - (1:12:00) 124 BPM
Kevin McKay - "Glasgow Underground Ibiza 2017: 3AM - 4AM" (continuous DJ mix 3) - (1:04:15) 124 BPM
Review: Glasgow Underground's Ibiza compilations are traditionally the biggest releases of the year for label head honchos Sam Dexter and Kevin McKay. It's stated they 'have been working their socks off to collect the best selection of cuts' and aimed squarely at White Isle dancefloors this Summer. Starting off with Sante Sansone's remix for the aforementioned McKay. This 'Italian stallion' drops his usual disco style for "What U Want", Barcelona's finest De La Swing impresses us as always with the rolling peak time stomper "No Rules" and also Vanilla Ace & Dharkfunkh's "What We Gonna Do?" (Kevin McKay remix) really brings the funk like no other on this disco-fied joint. It's a whopper here: comprised of a few dozen tracks, it's all damn good value and there's enough surefire grooves on here to keep the kids on your dancefloor groovin and movin' all Summer. And if you can't be bothered with all that: it's conveniently mixed up to perfection across three volumes by McKay himself.
Various - "Eton Messy In:Season" (continuous DJ mix) - (1:34:36) 125 BPM
Review: YouTube channel turned party brand Eton Messy has devoted much time over the last 12 months to building up its' record label. Here, it continues that approach via another periodic In:Season compilation featuring a 19-track collection of exclusive label cuts. As you'd expect, there are plenty of "future anthems" present, including the bounding heaviness of Gotsome's thoroughly filthy "Sound Suite", the dark, garage-influenced Afro-house throb of Martin Badder's "Ugulya Mandee", the acid-powered late night sleaze of Catchment's "Kornastone" and the ragged electro-house/deep house fusion of Gallago's "Left". Throw in a swathe of warmer and more melodious cuts from the likes of Howea, Alva, Grazze and Peasant, and you have a rock solid collection of contemporary club cuts.
Review: The clubs and DJs of Glasgow inspired this label, and so they asked their favourite producers from the city if they would make a track that was specifically designed for their crowd. They are said to be are really happy with the results. Features tracks from the likes of Jasper James, JD Twitch, Illyus & Barrientos, Dalfie and (the Sub Club's) and Domenic Cappello alongside some brilliant producers that you might not have heard of. Most of all, you can really hear what Glasgow Underground, and the city itself, is all about right now. Highlights include Hammer's late night, strobe-lit tunnel vision on "Rails", label head honcho Kevin McKay's tough swing-fuelled bounce on "You Got Me Down" and Idamos rework of the legendary US duo Mateo & Matos on "The Real Thing". Honourable mentions also to Huntleys + Palmers main man Auntie Flo on the deeply sublime balearica of "Desert Island". So there you have it: 15 tracks from house to hip-hop, techno to deep house, all made in Glasgow.
