Review: Secondcity is back following up a bunch of wicked releases on Nic Fanciulli's Saved as well as DFTD with this fresh EP for current tech house masters Gruuv. Here he teams up with Sonny Rooney aka Solarris for the adrenalised and emotive dancefloor drama of "Bridgewater" featuring some razor-sharp arpeggios, emotive strings and a tightly programmed groove: everything you need right here! Label head honchos Audiojack step in to deliver a remix which streamlines the groove in more rolling fashion (as always!) without deviating too much from the original. Finally, Cologne's Jonathan Kaspar (Pets Recordings/KX/Objektivity) steps up to deliver a much deeper rendition which we really enjoyed and will appeal to fans of stuff on Crosstown Rebels or Moodmusic.
Review: It's that time again for Mark Brown and the gang's summer season on The White Isle. While the likelihood of said festivities eventuating this year may be a bit up in the air, you can rest assured that they'll have no qualms bringing the party direct to you - wherever you are! Ibiza 2020 features s whopping 40 tracks which will no doubt keep the party going well beyond the summer season, with highlights not limited to: label staple Matt Sassari with the ethereal stomper "Put A Record On", a certain David Morales golden oldie given a modern twist by the boss man on The Face Vs Mark Brown's "Needin' U" (Dimitri From Paris remix), a meeting of two great minds on Nile Rodgers vs Eats Everything's "Do What You Wanna Do" (Eats Everything Haus rework) and one of several appearances on here by the legend from down under Sneaky Sound System in the form of "Can't Help The Way That I Feel" (David Penn remix - extended mix). Elsewhere, industry titans such as Carl Cox, Paul Woolford, Green Velvet & Junior Sanchez receive some worthy remixes.
Review: It has been quite a year for the Toolroom institution. Celebrating their 15th birthday last year, they weren't ones to rest on their laurels, instead going full steam ahead with a bunch of genre defining compilations this year. But most importantly they have been instrumental in the comeback of funky house after a 20 year dormancy, with killer releases by the likes of Weiss, Cashio and boss man Mark Knight himself. Add to that one banging party at Chicago Social Club for Amsterdam Dance Event and it's evident that these guys are proper 24 hour party people. With a glorious year sadly coming to an end, celebrate a wonderful one that was on Best Of Toolroom 2019 with highlights not limited to: the rework of the Cevin Fisher classic "Freaks Come Out" by Jack Back, Hannah Wants & Kevin Knapp's deep down and dirty "Call Me" (extended mix), UK heroes Alan Fitzpatrick & Wheats delivering the certified banger "M27" and New York legend Todd Terry teaming up with Tuff London on "Psychodrama" featuring Jasmien Nanhekhan. If that was not enough, ascendant producer Maxinne delivers two mixes compiling all the tracks: one smooth House mix followed by a thumping Tech House mix.
Sui Generis & Kane Law - "We R Kool" - (5:49) 122 BPM
Ovidi Adlert - "Wicked" - (6:29) 124 BPM
Tom Black - "Untouchable" - (5:26) 125 BPM
Review: Mark Brown presents the Cr2 Live & Direct Radio Show, with one hour of the hottest new dance music every week featuring exclusive tracks doing the rounds right now - and some forthcoming house and tech house gems. Here is the playlist from the July 2019 edition with highlights not limited to: Jacky (UK) with the tough acid inflected roller "Toggles", the classic rave aesthetic of Julie McDermott's "Don't Go" (Roger That remix - extended mix), the legendary Todd Terry proving just why he is still the rhythm master to this day on "Samba 2017" (InHouse mix) and Sui Generis & Kane Law going for some moody afterhours minimal on "We R Kool".
Review: With Ibiza's extended summer season almost upon us, Toolroom has served up a suitably epic collection of cuts that it expects to be big on the White Isle this summer. Label boss Mark Knight has provided a trio of DJ mixes ("Poolside", "Club" and "Afterclub") and the unmixed tracks included all fit into these loose categories. There's not enough room to list all of the highlights, but we've been enjoying the funk-fuelled disco-house rush of Illyus and Barrientos' "The One", the sleazy, bass-heavy bounce of Max Chapman's "Steppa", the acid-powered tech-house-jack of Del-30's "Gravity" and the weighty, mind-altering thump of "Low End Theory" by Eli Brown.
