Review: Bumpin' and jackin' house business for unashamed retroverts and by some of the current best of the scene. B.K.R is the techno project of Simon Baker, presenting four dancefloor fillers here on Dusky's 17 Steps. The first track in collaboration with Hot Creations boss Jamie Jones entitled "Bubble & Squeak". Baker then flies solo for the rest of the EP; the man throwing down the soulful and driving tech house of "Fly", the rather Cajmere sounding percolator jack of "Dis" (which is as raw and stripped back as we like it!) and then finally "Das" which not only showcases this Leeds legend's use of vocabulary: but also his dexterity in the studio: this jam joins all the dots between the previous tracks on this slinky, bassline driven cut that is geared for some intense strobing moments.
HECTOR - "Sound Of BPM Festival" (continuous DJ mix) - (1:22:44) 124 BPM
Review: Mexican producer Hector has sure come a long way. From his humble beginnings in London's underground scene, working the counter of London's infamous Phonica record store and becoming a regular at popular London haunts of the time like fabric and T Bar (R.I.P.) he has gone on to international stardom, playing the word circuit and launching his Vatos Locos imprint: the very label which launches this compilation and credited to the highly popular Playa del Carmen festival that he has since become a regular guest at. Highlights on here (and there's many!) not limited to: the hi-tech soul sounds of Carl Craig with his classic "Sandstorms" or Martin Buttrich with his classic from 10 years ago "Full Clip". More recent classics such as Loco Dice's remix of Carl Cox's "Family Guy" and Nicole Moudaber & Skin (of Skunk Anansie) with their explosive "You Like This" getting a rolling rendition courtesy of Paco Osuna. The VL Recordings head honcho appears also, with a bunch of new exclusives: the best being his track "L.A. Kr3w" getting a makeover by Detroit boss man Stacey Pullen.
Review: Hot Creations boss Jamie Jones manages to find time for another release, in between his Ibiza residency and travelling the globe as one of modern house music's most popular DJs. His latest offering brings everything you'd expect from the Welshman and nothing less. These four Summery and pop-inflected tech house cuts are hot material on their own and make a cohesive EP. Starting off with the anthemic "Sound Of Music" covering jungle legend Nookie's track of the same name and with pop sensation Katy B on vocals. The rolling peak time groove "Kooky Chords" is absolutely the sound of not only 'The Island' but Jones' label and will bang the party just as much as recent offerings by wAFF or Phil Kieran.Then there's a bouncy and sleazy early evening jam in the form of "Positive Pressure" featuring American Kevin Knapp and the druggy/minimal afterhours DJ tool "Parallel Universe".
Review: He's Hot Natured, tres Freak 'N Chic (once upon a time) but now he's gonna raise Kaoz on the dancefloor: business as usual from the UK tech house legend Jamie Jones. It's more of the smooth and slinky house you'd expect from Bangor's finest on "Illicit Behaviour" often copied but never matched. He ups the ante on next track "New Skool Acid" which is much more fierce and funky. This dirty and druggy shuffler is definitely for the peak time. There's a bunch of killer remixes of said track too: we're particularly feeling Matthias Tanzmann's rendition where the Leipzig legend gives it a dark and atmospheric makeover for late night sleaze. Stephane Ghenacia's however is smooth and sultry deep house for chilled Sunday sessions with floating pads, bumpy bass and lush Rhodes keys doing all the right things.
Review: Jamie Jones returns to his Hottrax imprint for a various artists release. Named after his respected Ibiza party series, Paradise marks the Hot Creations founder's first original solo material since launching the label in 2013. Joining him are three respected producers. Jones kicks things off with the intoxicating bass-heavy bounce of "Under My Control", Finland's Kiki follows up an appearance on Exploited with the dub inflected tech house of "ALT:TUDE", heavyweight Parisian POPOF (Mindshake/MOOD) gets groovy on "Nowhere 2 Go" and Spanish artist Rafa Barrios, who's recently released on Sola and Stereo Productions presents "Lawless" which is aimed squarely at the mainroom dancefloor with that massive drop.
Review: Due to his work on the Hot Natured album, Jamie Jones's solo releases have taken a back seat of late, and this four-track EP on his own Hot Creations imprint is, amazingly, just his second release of the year. Predictably, there's plenty to enjoy, from the rolling, intergalactic funk of "Planets, Spaceships" - think rave-era stabs and spacey electronics riding a groove built around an MK style US garage bassline - and wonky, tech-tinged throb of "Cookie Monster", to the glistening, Italo-influenced wobbliness of "Starp Trek" (our pick), and deep, stripped-back late night shuffle of "Stick". All four tracks sound like ready-made peaktime bombs.
Review: Hot Creations boss man Jamie Jones resurfaces on the Crosstown Rebels label with his first solo transmission of the year, the rather fruitily titled Moan & Groan. Filled to bursting point with all the typical Jammy Jones production points - think bouncy groove, irresistible drops and hushed deviant vocals - "Moan & Groan" arrives just in time for the summer slog on the Croatian coastline. It's complemented by two remixes of "Tonight In Tokyo" - one of the secret weapons Jones included on last year's Crosstown Rebels album of sorts Tracks From The Crypt - from Breach and Cassius. Ben Westbeech's darker alias teases out some deep basslines for his rework whilst veteran French duo Cassius are on altogether more epic form.
Review: After releases on Sola, Hedonism and Toolroom, Dresden-based duo Raumakustik are back on Hot Creations. The duo were responsible for the underground summer anthem '"Raider" which went on to be one of the biggest tracks of 2015. Their new thriller entitled "Animal" is a generous serving of bass-driven and swing fuelled tech funk featuring maximum dancefloor dynamics. This is followed by label chief Jamie Jones' edit of "Waves" going for a funked-up and polyrhythmic tribal house workout, reminiscent of the legendary DJ Sneak's Sneaky Trax from the mid '90s - super hot!
Review: Whatever you think about Hot Creations - and opinions are, of course, divided - you can't deny that Jamie Jones and Lee Foss's label has been a game-changer. Their combination of contemporary house grooves with classic house, disco, boogie and garage influences now dominates dancefloors the world over. This label retrospective tells the story of their runaway success between 2011 and 2012, offering up three hours of unmixed floorfillers from the likes of Waifs & Strays, Miguel Campbell, Burnski, PBR Streetgang, Jamie Jones and Lee Foss, plus a smattering of lesser-known gems. For those who missed the label's formative years, there's also a tasty bonus mix of early material from Russ Yallop.
Review: This is not the first compilation to drop whose sole aim is to raise funds for NHS Chartities Together - R&S Records and Bass Agenda both delivered similarly epic sets - but "Care4Life" may well be the strongest and most diverse. As you'd expect, each one of the 45 tracks is previously unreleased, and the cast list reads like a who's who of dance music culture. Notable highlights include an ultra-deep, saucer-eyed number from Daniel Avery, an unheard rework of the Chemical Brothers' "Catch Me I'm Falling", a superb revision of Harvey's Locussolus project by Kiwi, Matthew Herbert in jazzy broken beat mode, a rare solo outing from Optimo's JD Twitch, a rip-roaring rave workout from Jas Shaw, and thumping peak-time bangers from Dusky, Eats Everything and Patrick Topping.
Review: Originally conceived by Adam Beyer as a platform to release music that he couldn't fit into Drumcode's regular schedule, the A-Sides series has reached its eighth volume. Comprising a vast array of styles and sounds, this 25-track compilation puts a spotlight on new and established artists. These include label regular Layton Giordani with the moody, tranced out "Chrome", newcomer Juliet Fox, who delivers the rolling, grainy drums of the Berghain-primed "Was Beautiful" alongside veteran artists like Secret Cinema - representing here with SAMA on the driving, dubbed out "Diviner" - and Joey Beltram, with the dreamy, old school groove and vocal sample-heavy "Can You Feel It".
