Review: British DJ/producer wAFF is up next for the second release on his Nature label, with four surefire tech house cuts. "Mesmerized" is a tunnelling and hypnotic number featuring Shyam P's vocals that add to its overall intoxicating effect. The dubby "To The Floor" and the boompty, bass-driven minimal of "SummerZ" make perfect tackle for the afterhours, and "Slut Drop" closes it out with it's sunny and funky groove that seriously needs to be played on a terrace this summer - good vibes.
Yasmin Lebonque - "The Castle Ooibonck" - (5:29) 130 BPM
Good Guy Mikesh & Filburt - "Place Of Love" - (5:30) 120 BPM
Dunder Karlsson - "Fet" - (7:15) 106 BPM
Review: Welsh label Crow Castle Cuts just about cram all the talent onto this release - the third in a series of four releases that has to date proved popular with fans of highly limited twelve inches that come replete with slick design and excellent house tracks. Now availabel on digital, Ap Gruffydd EP is no different, joining the dots on the many corners of the house and techno spectrum with aplomb. First you get wiggling acid techno from the ever excellent Luv Jam, explorations of mind scraping alien techno from the mysterious WAFF and sumptuously poised sampledelic analogue beatdown on Cy's brilliant "Queensbridge Chatta". The tempo veers even further south but the temperature remains ever warm with Yasmin Lebonque's "The Castle Ooibonck" whilst Good Guy Mikesh & Filburt introduce an off kilter tone with the heavenly "Place Of Love" dominated by the constant waves of epic chords. Tip!
Review: The Hot Creations affiliated Jon Wafer aka wAFF is up next on Loco Dice's long running Desolat imprint. This guy is all the rage in tech house at the moment and apparently moonlights as a Reiki healer when not living the life of a globetrotting DJ: fact. For the Hanzz Sup EP he presents four tough and rolling cuts for the main room and you can expect to hear the absolutely explosive title track a lot this Summer: at open air parties from the White Isle and Croatia or beyond. "Hypnotised" or "Inception", on the other hand, offer up some restrained yet precisely functional techno for dark warehouse environments that has seen him release on the likes of Drumcode previously.
Review: Leeds tech house upstart wAFF appears next for Hot Creations after previous releases on the Jamie Jones owned powerhouse, as well as recent appearances on Moon Harbour and Drumcode. "Kidney Punch" is a buzzy and bumping electro house groove, with some hypnotic and angelic vocals looped over the top to wonderful effect. "Flipback" however is much more suited to the main room at peak time and preferably in Ibiza! This tough rolling and adrenalised groove will appeal to fans of labels Gruuv or Material Series. Finally, the slinky tech house of the title track is perfect to cool down the crowd after a session of serious prime time energy and that empowering monologue over the top is absolutely sick!
Review: wAFF makes a welcomed return to Hot Creations with three original cuts on his mighty 'Fat Gash EP'.
Playfully named after his best friend, title track 'Fat Gash' is a dancefloor monster with highly infectious vocals, while 'Shabby' has powerful keys, sonic builds and rolling percussions. Over on the flip 'Connected' is a high energy hitter with smooth vocals and a serious party vibe. Since releasing his Rainbows EP' on Hot Creations in 2012 and following with a number of successful releases and remixes, wAFF has become a staple part of the crew playing with the likes of Jamie Jones, Lee Foss and Richy Ahmed all over the world and is now entering into his third year as resident at DC10 for Paradise.
Review: House DJs MYNC offer an exhaustive overview of the tracks that rocked the long-running White Island venue this summer. In the soulful corner, there's the Maxi Soundsystem take on Boris Dlugosch's "Look Around You". Featuring Roisin Murphy on vocals, it does a lot to sweep away the rainy autumn blues. Ten Walls deliver the trancey goods in the shape of "Gotham", which revolves around a belching bassline, but the most notable aspect of Ibiza 2013 is the way minimal producers have come into the house fold. Loco Dice borrows a prog house bassline for 'Detox' and Luciano's "Rise Of The Angel" - remixed here by Andrea Oliva - is a piano-led, wide eyed deep anthem.
Various - "El Chiringuito Ibiza Beach House Sessions Volume One" (continuous DJ mix by Mr Doris) - (1:14:21) 101 BPM
Various - "El Chiringuito Ibiza Beach House Sessions Volume One - Decks & FX Recorded Live At El Chiringuito" (continuous DJ mix by Groove Armada) - (1:06:58) 124 BPM
Review: Whatever you think about Hot Creations - and opinions are, of course, divided - you can't deny that Jamie Jones and Lee Foss's label has been a game-changer. Their combination of contemporary house grooves with classic house, disco, boogie and garage influences now dominates dancefloors the world over. This label retrospective tells the story of their runaway success between 2011 and 2012, offering up three hours of unmixed floorfillers from the likes of Waifs & Strays, Miguel Campbell, Burnski, PBR Streetgang, Jamie Jones and Lee Foss, plus a smattering of lesser-known gems. For those who missed the label's formative years, there's also a tasty bonus mix of early material from Russ Yallop.
Review: Hot Creations continue their near-faultless track record with another double header from Leeds producer wAFF. It's definitely a game of two halves as "Eclipse" rolls out as a trippy, deep tech star-gazing mission that's reminiscent of early Spirit Catcher, but perhaps edited by Harvey. "Ibiza", meanwhile, lives up to its name with a solid tribal tech groove that can't fail to raise a roof or two - even on the venues without roofs!
