Review: If you're looking for a quick snapshot of where house music is at in 2022 then you could do a lot worse than pick up this latest Toolroom compilation. With 50 full-length cuts to choose from, plus two 75-minute DJ mixes, you're certainly getting plenty of bang for your buck, and with the likes of Ilyus & Barrientos, Leftwing:Kody, Shadow Child, Hannah Wants, Franky Rizardo, Mason Maynard and Huxley all represented, you get a good chance to catch up with what some of today's biggest stars have been up to lately, as well as checking out fresh cuts from veterans like ATFC, Wally Lopez, Nic Fanciulli and of course label boss Mark Knight himself.
Review: It's that time of year again, when the industry's finest head en masse to one of the biggest events in global dance music - WMC. As always, the Toolroom family will be a known presence throughout the week-long festivities, and here's a sneak preview of the future classics they'll be dropping at this year's parties in The Magic City. Label chief Mark Knight naturally kicks things off (in collaboration with Mason) on the sweltering funky house of "Givin' Up", label stalwart Maxinne teams up with Chicago veteran Gene Farris on the deep tribal workout "Our House", the ascendant Carly Wilford & Anelisa Lamola keep on with the uplifting vocal house energy on "We Rise" while the always impressive GotSome teams up with Kokiri for the Inner City-inspired "Big Time Love" (feat Tasty Lopez) plus the welcome addition of Kittball Records boss Juliet Sikora with Tini Gessler on the high tech minimal of "Tidy Up" among many others. Comes with two continuous mixes to boot.
Review: Simon Neale Aka Shadow Child has spent much of the last few years dishing up high-grade treats on Food Music, though in recent times he's also released music on labels including Super Rhythm Trax and, most recently, Shall Not Fade. Here he adds another label to his CV, Armada Music's Electronic Elements offshoot, via a fine Theo Kottis rework of last year's 'Jupiter'. Kottis makes great use of Neale's attractive melodies and rushing lead lines, offering up a tactile, retro-futurist house take full of smile-inducing organ stabs, undulating sequenced synth-bass, twinkling pianos (they reminded us of Robert Miles' 'Children', a track that's probably due a revival) and punchy drum machine beats. It's an excellent remix and a genuinely fun, feel-good anthem in the making.
Review: Still a relatively new project from Simon Neale, aka Dave Spoon, is Shadow Child, a project which first took off in 2016 with a release of Neal's own Food Music. A release with fellow BBC1 DJ Danny Howard (Nothing Else Matters) and Jerome Hill's Super Rhythm Tracks later and Shadow Child slides into the basement of Shall Not Fade club tracks series with this Bak 2 Skool EP. Going old school hardcore, rave and jungle on "Romford", get your undeniable house grooves from "FFFound" and a slightly techier "4U". Basslines, bleep and breakbeats go all the way in the referential "Have You Seen Mr G?" with a slight of trance capping of this fine release in "Crystl".
Review: This is your 2020 edition of Toolroom House Party! Included in this red hot package are 20 brand new and exclusive cuts from the likes of: KC Lights who serves up the funked-up tribal groove of "You & Me", boss man Mark Knight once again heralding the return of good ol' fashioned funky house on "If It's Love" featuring Laura Davie & The Melody Men, legend Sharam Jey with Andruss & Bob Musella on the tough rolling tech funk of "Rise On My Soul" and man of the moment Shiba San getting deep down and dirty on "Runnin' Roll". Elsewhere, Saved head honcho Nic Fanciulli teams up with Black Circle on the spiritual afro house epic "Leap Of Faith", rising Berliners Mat.Joe give us the neon-lit energy of "Off Ma Mind" and you can bet that the ever reliable D. Ramirez makes a contribution (alongside label chief Knight) on the euphoric "Colombian Soul" which is remixed by label staples Sllash & Doppe. Plus, three super-hot DJ mixes from Dombresky, the aforementioned KC Lights & Ben Remember.
