Review: Doorly steps up to compile Souther Fried's fourth instalment of the Southern Fried & Tested series. There's over forty-five tracks on here so it should keep you moving and warm for the entire duration of the summer, not to mention Doorly's ingenious mixing and mash-up style. The compilation also spans many different sub-genres of house, from booty, electro, tech and more dancehall-inspired tunes, creating one hell of a party and one beauty of an addition to Southern Fried's catalogue! Check the "Big Booya" acappella!
Review: Justin Jay has quietly amassed an impressive discography over the last seven years, delivering a mixture of high-grade techno, tech-house and deep house cuts. On his first outing for Shall Not Fade offshoot Lost Palms, the Los Angeles-based producer cannily concentrates on the deeper, warmer and more atmospheric end of his trademark sound, bouncing between dusty, sample-rich jams (the S3A style quiet jazziness of 'Where Didya Come From?'), up-tempo deep space electro ('Lost Boy'), bumpin' and immersive deep house melodiousness ('Questions') and off-kilter, decidedly psychedelic post-IDM electronica (the acid-fired 'WTF Dude?'). We'd also recommend collaborative crew cut 'Ramen With The Boys', a deep and dubby excursion where Benny Bridges, Krywald and Farrar all lend a hand.
Review: Justin Jay has previously released material on Freerange and Dirtybird and for his debut on Josh Wink's label, he conjures up something darker. "Vale of Tempe" is a twisted minimal banger that resounds to barbed percussive slivers and twisted acid lines, while on the title track, he ups the pace to deliver a highly effective metallic track that boasts a churning, spiralling chord-led climax. On "Athens", Jay opts for a deeper, dubbed out groove that sounds expansive and atmospheric, while Ovum has commissioned Viers to rework "Vale..", and the talented, emerging artist turns the original into a stepping, rickety electro affair that sounds like it has arrived from a different planet.
Review: Bringing the slightest touches of the Los Angeles beat scene to a framework of club and house music, Justin Jay's music flickers with undercurrents of trippiness, sex and exstacy. It doesn't say this more than in "Don't Trip", a number big on warehouse basslines, frenetic drum machine manipulation and that obscene drop. The original's cleaner fidelity and progressive style makes way for a rougher mixdown and harder alternative in the Fastboi88 re-trip, a version more suited to the basement than bigger arena, with "Like This" offering a more streamlined club number replete with iconic spinback samples and gnarly rave and trance elements.
Review: This guy is scary - a classically trained producer who was winning DJ competitions by the age 18! Clearly set for great things, this EP sees this Californian debut on the classic Southern Fried imprint with two slick tracks. "Everything" is deep and comforting as sunset Ibizan bar music, while "Into the Night" is what he likes to call 'raunchy tech" and with grooves this low-down who are we to argue? Elsewhere the Frogs In Socks dub is a mindblower and Jack Fell Down's garage rework is a total party starter.
Review: Freerange's latest missive comes from Los Angeles-based twosome Justin Jay and Ulf Bonde. This is their debut single, and as first outings go, it's rather impressive. "Indecision", featuring the silky-but-weary vocals of Josh Taylor, is a loose, dubby and atmospheric affair, with blissful guitar textures and soft-touch keys emphasizing the hazy, light night mood. It's accompanied by a chunkier Dub, whose swinging beats tip a wink to classic Derrick Carter productions, and a fine remix from Edward, who drags the track further towards German after-party territory. Metronomic vocal number "I See You" - in which Taylor adds sing-along choruses to his emotion-rich verses - completes an excellent package.
Review: Dutch super trio Kraak & Smaak go poolside: Miami style here for Toolroom. Indeed this compilation showcases the many shades of house music that soundtracked some serious fun in the sun, at 2018's edition of Miami Music Week. The longtime staples of the UK imprint Jalapeno serve up all things deep, funky, nu-disco and even a bit of French Touch for good measure. Highlights include Lindstrom & Prins Thomas' disco odyssey - translated via their remix of Temples' "Born Into The Sunset", Freerange boss Jimpster's lush and hypnotic "English Rose" (original mix), last year's comeback by Parisian legend Alex Gopher & Pierrick Devin on "Jazz Rock" (receiving another well deserved rinse!) and the inimitable Detroit legend Andres with his remix of Cool Peepl's "Free" (feat Billy Love, Amp Fiddler & Sundiata O.M). Several of the trios funked-up tracks feature throughout in addition to a continuous mix of the playlist.
Review: This expansive charity compilation marks the debut of Mostly Cozy, a new sub-label from Honey Butter Records. It's a pleasing confident first outing, with the showcased music - most of which comes from up-and-coming or under-appreciated artists - flitting between sun-kissed warm-up warmth, jazzy, sample-heavy deep house, melodic bumpers and heavily electronic dancefloor goodness. The album's many highlights include the filter-heavy, disto-tinged chunkiness of Justin Jay's 'Red Dress', the boompty-influenced heaviness of 'Just Breathe' by Cassettes For Kids, the ultra-deep house jazziness of Jehan's 'All You Got' and the drowsy dreaminess of Iner's 'Kali Laska'. A fine selection that should help keep us all entertained while we patiently wait for clubs to re-open.
Review: It can be a tricky task keeping up with Pets Recordings jam-packed release schedule. That's why the imprint's "My Favourite Pets" compilation series, which gathers together brilliant bits from the catalogue you may have missed, is essential listening. Volume six is naturally full to bursting with tried-and-tested treats from Catz 'N' Dogz excellent imprint. Highlights are plentiful throughout, of course, but our favourites include Kassian's exclusive rework of recent Catz 'N' Dogs single "Wave" (a bumpin' chunk of peak-time brilliance), the exotic dancefloor hypnotism of Sei A's fine remix of "This Time" by Adam Port and Jennifer Touch, the low-slung sleaze of Jonathan Kaspar's "Cicatrice", the classic West Coast deep house bump of Beesmunt Soundsystem's "Searchin (Borrowed Identity Remix)" and the mid-tempo Balearic house beauty of Kamp's "Azure".
