Purple Disco Machine/Lorenz Rhode - "Birds" - (4:35) 122 BPM
Danye S - "In The Streets" - (6:49) 122 BPM
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.
Review: We were astonished to discover that the Sandpaper EP is in fact Lorenz Rhode's first solo single in two years. So was it worth the wait? We'd say yes. The title track in particular is superb, with blue-eyed soul man Jamie Lidell providing a typically brilliant lead vocal over a rubbery, hybrid electrofunk/house number full of jazzy electric piano riffs and pliable synth-bass. The track's boogie/synth-disco leanings are explored further on the accompanying Sound Support remix, which makes great use of a throbbing, arpeggio-style bassline and some shimmering chords. Elsewhere across the EP you'll find radio edit and instrumental takes, as well as the cheery, smile-inducing old-school house flavours of 'On The Nightshift'.
Review: It would be fair to say that Lorenz Rhode's greatest asset is his reliability. He doesn't release all the much music, but what he does put out is always on the money. That's certainly the case here. Title track "Belair" is a chunky, dust-encrusted deep house thumper tailor-made for peak-time plays, while "Jubilee" sees him get even jauntier via wild Clavinet solos, punchy P-funk bass and crunchy disco-house drums. Elsewhere, Strip Steve re-imagines "On Top" as a quirkily swung, stab-happy chunk of MPC house madness, before Tensnake steals the show with a brilliant revision of "And I Said" that sits somewhere between turn-of-the-90s New York house and jammed-out jazz-funk madness.
Review: It's been a long time between drinks for Lorenz Rhode. Remarkably, this is the former Exploited regular's first EP in nearly five years. As usual, the emphasis is on classy, party-starting fare, from the jammed-out electric piano keys, synth bass and sampled '80s soul vocals of "And I Said" to the big builds, jaunty synth riffs and crispy drums of "Xpandau". Heavier workouts come in the shape of "Risa", where druggy electronic motifs ride a sleazy, Chicago jack-influenced backing track, and K.98's "Rubbadub" mix of "And I Said", a warehouse-friendly romp fired by bombastic kick-drums, DJ Sneak style stabs and Todd Edwards-esque vocal cut-ups.
Review: Compost Records' 25th birthday celebrations will soon ratchet up a notch or two via the release of an epic vinyl box set of rare cuts and fresh remixes. Before then, there's the small matter of this fourth "Overture" EP. Nu-disco don Purple Disco Machine offers up a pair of colourful, peak-time ready remixes of Lorenz Rhode's P funk influenced stomper "Back" (the talkbox-sporting Vocal version being our pick), while Liquid Phonk joins the dots between deep house and synth-heavy disco on the suitably gorgeous Starwalk. Arguably best of all, though, are the skanking Spiller vocal and Dub remixes of Truby Trio cut "Make a Move", which brilliantly join the dots between vintage ska and 21st century deep house.
Review: A quarter century has passed since Michael Reinboth founded Compost Records in his home city of Munich. To celebrate the imprint's 25th birthday he's commissioned a bumper selection of reworks of back catalogue tracks, releasing the results over a trio of EPs. This second volume begins with Balearic specialist Phil Mison's synth-heavy nu-disco revision of Siren's modern NYC disco cut "The Way", before Ewan Pearson steals the show with a sublime vocal version of Tomasz Guiddo's "Hide" rich in pulsing, arpeggio-style synthesizers, lilting horns and elastic disco bass. Arguably best of all, though, is Gerd Jansen's rework of Lorenz Rhode's "Back", a stomping, full-throttle interpretation that gleefully harks back to the early days of Italian house and turn-of-the-90s synth-pop.
Review: Hearty congratulations to Michael Reinboth, whose Compost Records' imprint recently celebrated its 25th birthday. As a way of marking this momentous occasion, the label has conjured up this expansive compilation, which offers up a blend of fresh remixes of label classics, overlooked revisions, bonus cuts and the odd hard-to-find classic (see Move D's superb "Hurt Me", which first appeared on the imprint in the mid-90s). Highlights are plentiful from start to finish, with Roman Flugel's throbbing rework of Beanfield's "Human Patterns", I:Cube's LFO-influenced re-make of A Forest Mighty Black's "Fresh In My Mind", Joakim's funk-fuelled acid take on Marbert Rocel's "Dance Slow" and Die Orangen's wonderfully druggy interpretation of Marsmobil's "Sometimes I Don't Regret" all catching the ear.
Review: On their Deep Love 2018 compilation, you'll find label stalwarts to newcomers alike for respected Berlin imprint Dirt Crew. Their seventh compilation in the series, the label claims that it is the most complete in terms of sound and flow - and will blend in perfectly with that laid back, late summer mood. From moments of dusty and chilled-out deepness courtesy of Lorenz Rhode or Felix Leifur, lo-slung acid jams like Ponty Mython's "It's All Understood" or funked-up disco house like Frenchman S3A's "Modern Soul". Elsewhere, we have got the kind of slinky and sensual tech-house you've come to expect from the label - best exemplified by Canadian Dan Only or Jaxx Madicine's particularly sublime "Blue Bird". Essentially, it's more of the fine quality you've come to expect from this house music institution.
Adana Twins - "Strange" (Acid Pauli & Nu remix) - (7:25) 120 BPM
Compuphonic - "Metropolis" - (3:17) 116 BPM
Review: Ten years of tech house powerhouse Exploited's exploits - pardon the pun! A born and bred Berliner, Shir Khan started the label in his home city in 2007. The imprint now plays host to a who's who in the current tech-house climate - including Adana Twins, Doctor Dru, Claptone, Joyce Muniz, Urulu and Cocolores to name a few. Its artists have been receiving full support from tastemakers such as Pete Tong, Soul Clap, Wolf & Lamb and Kraak & Smaak. All the usual suspects appear here: many golden oldies and even some newbie surprises too - perfect for the Christmas season and to forecast trends moving forward into 2018. To prove their relevance, they've served up a whopper of a compilation: over five dozen tracks showcasing their illustrious discography. We are certain that these are timeless grooves and will prove to be just as relevant another decade.
Some of these go as far back as 2009! Take for instance Malente & Dex feat. Analogik's "Gipsy Kings" which homed in that whole loopy latin house trend - popularised by similar tunes like "We No Speak Americano". Swedish electro house dons Zoo Brazil appear as well, with their 2012 dancefloor hit "Rock The House", then get deep and slinky with Moodymanc's 2013 sleeper hit "Joy" (Ralph Lawson Dub). They were even doing jazzy/dusty deep house as far back as 2011, like on Homework's "Whipped Cream". Remember Serge Santiago's remix of Murphy Jax's "Let's Get To It" featuring the inimitable Mike Dunn? It's here!
But when best describing the label's success thus far, we'd have to give honorable mentions to the true staples of the label. The legendary Chicagoan James Curd (formerly one half of the Greenskeepers) has kept on going from his new home of Adelaide, Australia and served up some of his best work in years. The emotive and bittersweet "Forever My Friend" is just one example. Likewise, Belgium's Compuphonic appears several times also - his recent hit from earlier this year "Metropolis" appears in all its soulful and evocative glory. Here's to another 10 guys, cheers!
Review: As you'd expect, the latest volume in Dirt Crew's regular Deep Love compilation series features far more hits than misses. As with previous installments in the long-running series, Deep Love 2017 is mostly made up of previously unheard material from label favourites and like-minded guest producers. Highlights come thick and fast throughout, and include the horn-laden Latin disco-house brilliance of M.ono's "Jamas", the jazzy, Compost style broken beat deepness of Felix Leifur's "Record", the loved-up shuffle of Loz Goddard's impeccable "Now is Where We Are" and a touch of 21st century jazz-funk/deep house fusion by Ponty Mython. Also worth a listen is the contribution from Sheffield beat-smith Thatmanmonkz, who once again delivers a hazy chunk of ultra-deep, soul-flecked dancefloor bliss.
Adam Sky vs Mark Stewart vs Siriusmo vs RQM - "We Are All Prostitutes" (Crookers remix vs Allthegirls - Yuksek remix vs Miss Pacman - Oliver $ remix - Shir Khan's Juke version) - (1:33) 125 BPM
Review: For the second volume in the "Compost Disco Selection" series, label founder Michael Reinboth has rounded up some of the German imprint's most magical disco-house moments (though, we should add, it's not all disco-house in the traditional sense of the term). There's naturally plenty to set the pulse racing throughout, from the angular electronic disco-funk of Indoor Life's "Voodoo (Chocolate Garage Production Mix)" and the throbbing loop-house cheeriness of Tiger and Woods' classic remix of Pitchben's "Stand Up", to the spiraling peak-time disco-with-house-drums of John Gazoo's "Midnight Runner (Vintage Mix)" and the kaleidoscopic boogie-house fun of Purple Disco Machine's remix of Lorenz Rhode's boogie-flavoured "Back". As you'd expect, Reinboth's accompanying DJ mix is tons of fun, too.
