Review: If a week is a long time in politics, then a decade is the equivalent of a lifetime in dance music terms. It's for this reason that so many labels are keen to mark their tenth birthday with a special release, just as Wolf Music - one of the UK's most reliable deep house imprints of recent times - has done here. Instead of opting for all new material, the imprint has decided to gather together some of their favourite "Wolf slammers" - cuts that have always done the business on the dancefloor. There's naturally plenty to set the pulse racing throughout, from the loopy R&B/disco/deep house fusion of Fantastic Man's "Look This Way" and the fabulously analogue Chicago retro-futurism of KRL's "Nothing You Can Teach Me", to the sample-heavy, riff-happy bounce of Red Rack'em's "Do Or Die" and the bass-heavy stomp of K98's warehouse-ready revision of Thrilogy's "Heaven".
Review: In its original form, KRL's hook-up with vocalist Janine Small, the bright and breezy "Never Leave", was the standout track on last year's superb "Third" EP on Quintessentials. Here the track is given a little spit and polish by pal Greymatter and recent Church signee Loz Goddard. The former makes the most of KLR's gorgeous synth riffs and Small's superb vocal, wrapping both around metronomic kick drums, crunchy TR-909 style snares and a formidably heavy, life-affirming analogue bassline. It is, like much of Greymatter's work, a warehouse-ready workout. As for Goddard, he opts for a loose and languid broken beat vibe, adding his own liquid synth flourishes, rumbling bass and jazzy percussion.
Review: After laying low for a few years, Kevin "KRL" Luckhurst returns to Quintessentials with his first EP since joining forces with fellow Brighton resident Greymatter on 2017's "Straight Billin' EP". There's an attractive brightness to Luckhurst's jaunty synth riffs and Janine Small's quietly soulful vocal on top notch lead cut "Never Leave", while the track that follows, "Rhodes To Nowhere", is a warm, rich and toasty deep house box jam straight from the top drawer. Elsewhere, "Confusion Beat" sees our hero work punchy jazz-funk samples around a loose-but-locked in house rhythm, while closing cut "Glacier" is a blissfully brilliant fusion of soft house rhythms, drifting vocal samples, twinkling pianos and glassy-eyed synthesizer motifs.
Review: Notching up a decade of releases requires something suitably celebratory. That's exactly what Germany's admired Quintessentials has served up on this tenth birthday compilation. It comes packed with previously unheard cuts of the highest quality, from the sun-bright swing of Borrowed Identity's UK garage-meets-deep house opener "For You", to the atmospheric, synth-heavy chug of Ooft's "Freak-E-Groove", the smoky late night jazz-house of Loz Goddard's "Leaves", and the foreboding, jazz-funk-biting sample-house dustiness of S3A's "Searching". Also worth checking are the drowst chords and bumpin' beats of KRL's "Baltimore" and the low-slung, gospel-influenced deep house pump of 4004's "Continuous Dialogue".
Review: In conjunction with the London based label celebrating its eighth birthday, Wolf Music return to the various artist format that sees them releasing forgotten gems and exclusive tracks from label mates. BRS' "Bouncing" was originally released back in 2000 on Sunshine Jones' Imperial Dub and is a firm favourite of the label for many years now. They see it as an opportunity to introduce it to a new generation of record buyers. Slovakia's Paradiso Rhythm self released "Greetings & Salutations" early in 2016 but Wolf have reissued it because it is, in their own words a 'killer record in every way.' Also of note: Ishmael & Medlar supply a collaboration recorded last year at the Red Bull studios and finally an updated version of KRL's "I Wanna Be With You" that was originally released on WOLFEP003.
Review: KRL's latest release - his first since 2013, coincidentally - is not so much an EP as a mini-album. Featuring a trio of hazy, quick fix interludes and a quartet of dancefloor-friendly house jams, WOLFEP032 sees the Wolf Music regular in fine form. "Manchester Beat" is a loose, oven-fresh groover built around looped, warehouse-friendly riffs, Lone style electronics and cut-up hip-hop vocal samples, while "You Roll Me" continues the late night, old skool vibe by way of gospel vocal snatches, bold chords and Balearic synthesizer flourishes. KRL joins forces with vocalist Janine Small on the tactile, groovy and luscious "So Far", but it's the retro-futurist pianos and classic US garage bump of "Tell Me Why" that really steals the show.
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