Review: New York house music royalty Sandy Rivera released the Witness Protection EP 20 years ago and this digital reissue commemorates the timeless classic. He has worked under a variety of pseudonyms over the years, including Soul Vision and Mysterious People in addition to running the BlackWiz imprint. Defected sublabel 4 To The Floor are dedicated to preserving the legacy of such underground anthems and are really on the money with this one. The classic Jersey garage swing of the Prosecution Mix follows the hypnotic darkroom dub of the Relocation Mix. The Jury and Defense mix (the latter almost an acapella of sorts) are handy DJ tools for the more experimental among you. While Rivera's output has slowed down in the last decade, many will no doubt remember how prolific he was up until the mid '00s when he released a steady stream of timeless vocal house anthems such as "Finally", "In The Night" and "Dreams".
Review: New York City house legend Sandy Rivera is still unstoppable after all these years. The artist famously known for his Soul Vision guise as well as timeless classics like "Finally", "Come Into My Room" and "Fall For You" adds another one to the list with his new one "Kaoz" and oddly enough it is on Steve Bug's Hamburg house institution Poker Flat. But you'll hear why on this dark and rolling vocal led groove, plus his deep and techy darkroom dub up next shows yet another side to this multifaceted veteran producer. Dario de Attis' fine remix is up next and is again rich on the dubby elements plus aimed squarely at after-hours dancefloors.
I Want You (Sharam's Playa remix) - (9:16) 125 BPM
I Want You - (7:34) 123 BPM
Review: Sandy Rivera's '90s house classic I Want You, is back and brought slap bang up date in remixed form. "Sharam's Playa mix" sees the track stretched out to nearly ten minutes with low, moody grooves that build into hypnotic highs. Also included is the original soulful house cut, which, after all these years, is sounding pretty fresh too!
Review: Sandy Rivera aka Kings Of Tomorrow has certainly been around the block. With releases on everything from the holy grail of house that is Defected, to other legendary US imprints such as Strictly Rhythm, he's pretty much a legend in his own right. This time he makes a trip over to Europe's 20:20 with a glistening, techy new single. "Flutez" has it all: a touch of grit to its beats, an incessant melody and an arrangement jam-packed with gnarly effects. The always on-point Audiojack comes through correct with the remix, transforming the original into a darker, more spectral floor killer for the late hours.
Fall For You - Sandy Rivera's Classic Mix - (5:37) 123 BPM
Review: Probably best known for the soulful house anthem Finally, Sandy Rivera's Kings Of Tomorrow is back with the Fall For You EP in stem-form. With access to the individual parts of the song, you can now do what you like with them. However if you want some tips Rivera's own classic mix is featured here to show you how the masters do it.
Review: Under his Kings Of Tomorrow guise, Sandy Rivera first teamed up with vocalist April for 2013 smash, Fall For You. Now they've decided to repeat the magic with a new gem, "Burn So Deep". Rivera provides two versions here - the "Disco Burn" is uplifting mid-paced commercial house that's embellished with the full and soulful vocals of April. Better still is the "Deep Burn" which features a moodier bass bounce, mournful chords and those golden vocal once again.
Review: Hit prediction alert! The legendary Sandy Rivera returns under his famed Kings Of Tomorrow moniker for another soulful house anthem in the form of "Faded". Featuring the emotive, smooth as silk vocals of The 27-year-old, Nashville-based singer, songwriter and pianist Kandace Springs, over Rivera's tight rhythm shuffle and evocative pads. Its less is more approach works well in capturing a feeling, working as the perfect backdrop to Spring's performance. Much like everything else that Rivera is behind such as "Finally", "In The Night" and "Forever" (to name but a few), this one will remain in the annals of history as another timeless classic by one of New York City's favourite sons.
Review: It would be fair to say that Studio K7 has pulled off something of a coup in getting Kenny Dixon Jr. to agree to compile and mix the latest installment in the long-running DJ Kicks series. It is, somewhat remarkably, the legendary Detroiter's first commercially available mix set. This triple-vinyl edition features a whopping 19 cuts - all in unmixed form - from the 30 track mix. Musically, it's a blazed, jazzy, soulful and groovy as you'd expect, and contains a mixture of downtempo beats, nu-jazz and hazy house cuts from the likes of Flying Lotus, Dopehead, Peter Digital Orchestra, Nightmares On Wax, Soulful Session and Lady Alma.
