Review: Spencer Parker is one of the unsung heroes of UK house music, but on this occasion, he hands over the controls to French talent. Rex resident Molly is behind the edit of "The Improvised Minotaur" and she does a fine job, teasing out the flowing piano line to the backdrop of a loose, rolling groove and eerie synth sounds. Fellow countryman DJulz's take on "Romantic" is more direct and less ethereal; the dense drums shuffle in a similar style to Martyn's recent output and are propelled forward with hissing percussion, while the organ riff at its heart lends it a somewhat menacing edge.
Rights For Men (House Of Ties remix) - (7:20) 127 BPM
Rights For Men (Adriana Lopez remix) - (6:16) 128 BPM
Rights For Men (Young Male remix) - (7:42) 127 BPM
Review: The Work Them boss has commissioned three excellent remixes of his 2014 release. First up is Berlin DJ Mr Ties, with a rare remix. Focusing on a tracky rhythm, he uses pitch-bent vocals and blaring synth stabs to turn the original into a heads-down, tough house jam, reminiscent of the Wild Pitch sound. Adriana Lopez follows with a remix that is redolent of Sandwell District, all wind tunnel hypnotism and insistent sub-sonic bleeps - the only variable is a repetitive vocal sample. Last but not least it'a he turn of Young Male, who delivers the heaviest version, a tough techno workout with just the right hint of aggressive energy.
Review: Label casual Spencer Parker returns to Radio Slave's Rekids with the first in a new series of EPs! As the title suggests, "No More Silly Club Songs Vol.1" are just a bunch of no nonsense house jackers without all the gimmicks or the hype. While people nowadays are worried about how 'outsider' or 'underground' they are, Mr. Parker is sitting in his studio making slamming dancefloor music for those marathon DJ sets. From No.1 to No.4, this EP contains four highly recommended tools that'll shake up your dancefloor and throw you off piste. Check em' and stop worrying about the image.
Review: After a hot string of releases this year on labels such as Ovum, CR2 and Azuli, one of Britain's best talents Spencer Parker is back with fresh material for Rekids. "I Think I Love You" reeks of Spencer's years of experience as it delves immediately into first class territory. Tightly produced, the off beat claps, closed hats and bass current are subtle, charismatic and addictive. Up next, Reboot takes the deep chugging record up a notch or two and into the tech house realm. Tinny cow bells and percussive rhythms are added with breezy aplomb by the German.
Review: Here we have a meeting of house minds courtesy of John Wink's Ovum records. Like a musical Blind Date if you will, with the former dreaded one playing Cilla. "Lerchen Und Eulen" has a jazzy, live feel like that of a 1950s Brazilian hip cat trio, only it's married to house hats and 80s-style claps. "In My Head" is more conventional, throbbing and deep house nouveau. Finally Radio Slave steps in to deliver a whopping 11 minute version of the lead track which is extremely sparse and is fuelled by an incessantly swinging rhythm.
Review: In spite of its title, Spencer Parker's latest release on Radioslave's label is a no-nonsense club affair. "Silly Club Song No.5" sees the UK producer in Berlin revisit the harder strains of US house; driving snares, insistent chords and an urgent vocal sample all play out over a tracky groove that has the words 'Junior Vasquez' written all over it. "Silly Club Song No.6" is also heavily indebted to American dance music, only this time the focus is Detroit. A booming, Reese-like bass is combined with Random Noise Generation-style rave stabs to form one of the cleverest techno pastiches of recent years.
Review: Originally released on Parker's 2018 Dance Music long player, "You're Under..." now appears on Rekids in remixed format. Fadi Mohem's take is a shimmering, dubbed out affair, led by churning chords, while Truncate's version sits at the other end of the techno spectrum. Led by a niggling organ riff and cavernous kicks, it's an expertly executed slab of peak time techno. Label owner Radio Slave contributes two versions; working with P.Leone, they deliver a solid, linear groove, replete with pitch bent vocals and ominous riffs. When he flies solo, Radio Slave chooses a radically different route, with a pulsating groove and shrieking vocal samples prevailing.
When You Gonna Learn (Spencer Parker's Workdub) - (6:29) 133 BPM
When You Gonna Learn (Mella Dee mix) - (6:24) 134 BPM
Review: Spencer Parker makes a rare appearance outside of his Work Them label with this hard-hitting EP. Issued on Mella Dee's label, the release starts with the title track's jagged piano stabs, firing percussion and a gurgling acid line. It's the fastest, most intense track that Parker has produced to date and is a sure-fire peak time bomb. Parker's own 'Workdub' isn't quite as heavy, with the Work Them boss focusing on a dub-heavy bass and relentless snares. The same can't be said for Mella Dee's take; dropping doom-laden vocals and a rising siren riff, the arrangement is effortlessly filtered in and out of a buzz-saw bass.
Review: Work Them boss Spencer Parker excels at blurring the boundaries between house and techno, and this latest remix package shows that he extends a similar aesthetic to his choice of remixers. Recruiting DJ Deep to rework "Shape Fascination", the Deeply Rooted House owner turns in two stunning versions. The first is a lithe, understated groove peppered with subtle chord stabs and tonal shifts, while the second dub take is more driving and percussive, with Deep upping the tempo and delivering dense claps over a tight rhythm. Akirahawks is drafted in to rework "Riff Shapes" and delivers disco loops and repetitive organ riffs over a tracky house workout while on the Setaoc Mass version of "Shape Fascination", the balance tips in the favour of techno, courtesy of lead-weight kicks and firing percussion.
A Different Size (Tijana T Rework) - (6:27) 122 BPM
Review: Hot on the heels of Spencer Parker's Different Shapes & Sizes series comes a new set of singles featuring reworks of some of the best tracks. On this first EP, Steffen Laschinski AKA Rising Sun steals the show with two sparkling, floor-filling takes on "Riff Shapes". The first, a swirling and attractive affair that wraps bold electronic motifs around a sweaty, breakbeat-driven groove, is arguably the pick of the pair, though some may prefer the thumping techno bounce of his second interpretation. Then DJ Fett Burger lays down a typically eccentric take on "SIZE: YES" - think bustling hardcore style breakbeats and mind-altering acid lines, before Belgrade-raised Tijana T joins the dots between Patrick Cowley's muscular arpeggio-disco and mind-altering acid techno.
Review: Different Shapes & Sizes is a new, three part series of EPs from Berlin resident Spencer Parker forthcoming on his Work Them Records imprint over the next few months. Conceived as a neat way of showcasing Parker's love for different shades of house and techno, The third installment takes a walk through the Rekids artist's love for the subtle differences in the genres he tends to focus on in most in his sets. "Size Information" sees Spencer do his tribute to the loopy/steely sounds of early '90s techno by Jeff Mills and Regis, a meticulous, noisy and overdriven 808 drum track/DJ tool is in order on "Shape Fascination" while "Size Devotion" hammers the message home in thunderous fashion on this fierce warehouse techno monster full of wobbly metallic textures.
Review: Kevin Griffiths' Tsuba label arguably had its strongest year to date in 2011, as this handy 12-track round up of highlights shows. Inhabiting the no-man's-land between deep and tech-house, Tsuba's 2011 output ranged from sturdy and acid-flecked (Subb-Ann) to intensely beautiful (Aybee's delicious, Nu Groove-ish rework of Ethyl & Huxley's "Reflexions") via straight-up late night floorfillers (Mic Newman, Spencer Parker & Ian Pooley, a notable remix from Sebo K). This collection also includes a terrific Larry Heard remix of Moodymanc's "Black Paint", which is as well crafted and undulating as you'd expect from the great man.
