Review:
Within the UK Bass scene, there are few who can be held in higher acclaim that Brighton's own Taiki Nulight, who has been at the forefront of bass music for pretty much the entirety of the scene's modern existence. This album showcases everything that the man is about, from the UKG inspired flavours of the title track 'Murky Manor', to the more futuristic and experimental stylings of 'Iconic', alongside Dread MC. Other highlights include the circular percussive movements of the 'The Business', the tearout tones of 'Primal' and of course the three high profile collaborations alongside fellow bass heavyweights: AC Slater, Chris Lorenzo and Cause & Affect.
Review:
Bristol's Addison Groove is back and getting well funky on this one! The Groove boss and 50Weapons staple gets some low slung party vibes into full effect on "F1nk" - a wicked tool that's looped to perfection. Next up, he goes deeper into the night on the hypnotic and very exotic polyrhythmicity of "Sudoeste" which features good mate Bim Sanga - it follows up their excellent Where Are The People EP on Bags Inc. last year. This one was our pick of the two and is perfect for those heads-down or 'get weird' moments on the dancefloor. Tip!
Review:
Detroit Swindle's Heist imprint now presents Kassian, the brainchild of Joe Danvers-McCabe (Danvers) and Warren Cummings (Warren Xclnce). Both are regulars in the underground and wider reaching London scenes, with Warren being a co-founder of Abouttoblow and a previous studio producer at Worldwide FM, while Joe came through DJing and running nights in the eclectic world of Bristol nightlife before moving to London. The Premise EP features the deep and sulty late night groove of the title track - a perfect match for the Amsterdam based imprint, while "Bad Habit" goes for an energetic disco- acid vibe. Finally "Love 4:2" was decent enough in its original form, but the man DJ Nature works his magic as always by taking the track down even deeper and more emotive territory...
Review:
Eleven years have passed since Wajeed released his most recent solo album, the instrumental hip-hop focused "The War LP". In that time, the Detroiter has expanded his musical repertoire somewhat, drawing greater influence from the Motor City's illustrious deep house scene. It's this side of his output that he explores on "For The Dirt", giddily flitting between acid-fired piano house ("From The Dirt"), Omar-S style tech-house/deep house fusion ("After You Left"), disco and funk-influenced vocal workouts (see "Things About You"), tasty tech-soul songs ("I Ain't Safe", the wonderful "Make It Happen") and jazz-flecked deep house dustiness (the percussive and swinging, "My Father's Rhythm").
Review:
For the seventh edition of Ostgut Ton?s acclaimed Panorama Bar mix, they have reeled in one of their finest and hard working sectors in the from of ND Baumecker - and it's about time! The Frankfurt native's compilation features a varied selection of moods and grooves, including exclusive tracks from FaltyDL, Gen Ludd and Jinje - as heard on volume one. The second one featured here is where you are treated to British deep house sensation Ross From Friends' trippy yet absolutely evocative "High Energy", Bay Area human beatbox Dave Aju getting into some deeply exotic microhouse on "Wayahed" and Rotterdam based electro heads Duplex delivering the ultra smooth "Isolator".
Review:
Since making tehur debut in 2013, Black Loops has been one of the most consistent deep house duos around. It's no doubt due to this fine track record, which includes a string of killer singles on Toy Tonics and Neovinyl, that the Italian twosome has been snapped up by Jimpster's Freerange label. They predictably hit the ground running with "7Hills", a tribute to Rome (or, at a push, Sheffield) that peppers a sturdy but swinging rhythm track with elongated organ chords, alien electronics and some suitably jazzy electric piano riffs. It comes accompanied by a slamming May Rey remix, which sounded to us like a deeper and dreamier take on Terrence Parker's bouncy techno sound, and suitably chunky, deep and picturesque bonus cut "King Paul".
Review:
Having only released occasional EPs over the last few years, Home Taping is Killing Music appears to behave got its mojo back. This EP from recent G.A.M.M contributor Love Drop appears a few months after a fine single from Klic ("Disco Music", which was backed by killer re-rubs by Dicky Trisco and Tuff City Kids). The original version of "Don't Look Back" is a dubby and hypnotic affair, with delay-laden synths, Clavinet lines and disco snippets riding a metronomic mid-tempo house groove. Dicky Trisco does his best Revenge impression via a smooth, groovy and deep revision, before Dan Shake throws everything but the kitchen sink at the track on a killer "Dancefloor Dub "laden with layered percussion hits and mazy Moog solos.
Review:
This is a killer cross-generational collaboration. It sees Altern8 and Nexus 21 veteran Mark Archer join forces with Food Music and Unknown to the Unknown regular Shadow Child (AKA noughties survivor Simon Neale). They predictably hit the ground running via the razor-sharp TB-303 acid riffs and sweaty machine percussion of "It's Good", before enveloping a jacking TR-909 drum track in restless handclap fills and alien electronics on title track "Non-Stop". Super Rhythm Trax label boss Jerome Hill delivers a booming, bass-heavy acid house rub of the same track, while "Eye Feel" captures some of the restless energy and stab-heavy madness of Archer's legendary, rave-era history.
Review:
Given that each of their previous releases has been on-point, it's little surprise to find that Fouk's latest EP is packed full of warm, sample-heavy, disco-flecked deep house treats. We'd argue that the headline attraction is bouncy opener "Organ Freeman", a tasty workout that layers fresh organ solos over a house groove built around rubbery bass and obscure disco-funk samples, though the wilder and more driving "Wrong Way" pushes it close. Elsewhere, "Butterfunk" is a lolloping trip into mid-tempo deep house/disco/jazz-funk fusion, while closer "Winter" is a loved-up chunk of deep space instrumental hip-hop with added boogie synths.
Review:
Earlier this year, Irish producer Marcus Lambkin delivered his first new material for two years as part of Me Me Me's second all-star "We We We" EP. Here the former DFA man returns to Man Power's label with a typically solid single. There are three original cuts to choose from: the gently spacey, funked-up deep house throb of "Cubed", the deep Chicago jack-meets-Balearic acid rush of "Rotation" and the sleepy warmth of "The Life To Come", where elongated chords and rich electric piano motifs ride a chunky, bass-heavy house groove. Edmundson re-imagines "Cubed" as a blissful chunk of deep house/two-step fusion, while Vin Sol wraps "Rotation" in raw analogue bass, mind-altering stabs and undulating acid lines.
Review:
Although famed for delivering killer cuts of vintage disco and boogie jams, Razor 'N' Tape has released plenty of life-affirming house jams, too. As if to prove the point, J Kriv and Aaron Dae's Brooklyn-based imprint has decided to release a second selection of back catalogue house highlights. Highlights come thick and fast throughout, from the bluesy bounce of J Kriv and Eugene's "Eunice" and the classic deep house warmth of Jimpster's killer remix of Mr V's "Something Wit Jazz", to the fizzing synth riffs and life-affirming percussive shuffle of "Stretchin" by Luvless and the groovy, jammed-out musical headiness of Lay-Far's tidy remix of "Just One" by Body Music. Also worth plenty of peak-time plays is Chrissy's chunky revision of Ragtyme's rap-laced 1987 Chicago jam "Fix It Man".
Review:
A bold statement against insular club culture, closed minds and lack of innovation, "The Choice" continues Catz 'N Dogz positive broadcasts with the help of Miss Bunty and three great friends on remix duties. On the Miss Bunty vocal, the track's bouncy acid groove powers along boldly to support her empowering lyrics, while the BETON Tribute To The Classics mix gets deep down and dirty. Madrid's Bawrut lets the drummer get wicked and man of the moment Adriyano gets his dusty classic house stomp on with the Super Relaks remix.
Review:
German DJ Marcel Vogel began resplicing soul and disco at the turn of the millenium, convinced that he had to something unique to contribute to the scene. After moving to Amsterdam in 2010, he founded Lumberjacks In Hell: initially as a conduit for his own edits and productions. Soon after, he found himself releasing original tracks from his musical heroes and bringing the 'Lumberjacks' sound to clubs and festivals all over the globe. British institution BBE helps Vogel celebrate eight years in the business here, with a bunch of fresh cuts that will truly shine under that disco ball. Highlights include the lo-slung funk groove of Beam Me Up's "Rabbit's Foot", some well dusted deepness for listening to in the dark courtesy of Funk Butcher (feat. Trim) on "Check The Flow", the inimitable Seven Davis Jr with the sleazy mood lighting of "Get To Know Me" and Amsterdam's finest Nachtbraker - who helps us enjoy life in the slo-lane on the smooth exclusive "Jared Fogle".
Review:
For those of you lucky enough to witness it, seeing Andreas Baumecker own the room at one of his acclaimed sets at Berlin's Panorama Bar is an absolute privelege. A resident since 2004, he's what Ostgut Ton best described as 'a foundational part of the club's identity.' For those of you that can't get past the notorious bouncers, be assured that Panorama Bar 07 will no doubt distill the experience into one riveting continuous mix - that brings the experience to you. Featuring exclusives by the likes of Falty DL - the New Yorker going for a proper old school vibe on the sensual "Paradox Garage 01", Jinje (of Vessels fame) nailing some slinky and hypnotic nu-disco antics on "Big Skies" and Glasweigian duo Gen Ludd serving up some deep techno perfect for those heads down moments on the dancefloor with "Bloods Avalanche".
Review:
Dressed head to toe in a jump suit, Ejeca serves up an EP of chunky, tried-and-tested dancefloor treats seemingly inspired by everyone's favourite 1980s adventure game show. He first opts for a physical task on opener "Unloving", a boisterous, retro-futurist big room house workout. Crystal safely tucked in his pocket, he charges through the all-new Jacking Zone (see "Standard Acid House Track") before pausing to catch his breath in the Industrial Zone, where the psychedelic atmosphere and raw analogue grooves of "Crystal Maze" await. Paul Woolford dons his Special Request guise to claim another crystal via a typically hardcore-influenced, bass-heavy re-make of "Unloving", before Ejeca heads towards the Crystal Dome to the accompaniment of late night techno shuffler "ISWHATIS". Start the fans please!
Review:
The Sound Of Benny EP Running Back Germany
It can be tricky keeping up with the many aliases of Benny Rodrigues Alves Fortes Monteiro, a Rotterdam-based producer whose output tends towards the prolific. Happily, Gerd Janson is here to help, bringing four of his pseudonyms together on one must-have EP. Rodrigues first dons the Younger Rebinds alias to deliver arpeggio-driven Italo-acid chugger "Tim's Symphony", before changing into his ROD clothes for "MOOG", a mind-altering chunk of late night techno psychedelia. Under his given name you'll find "Sad Piano", a fluid and stripped back piano house workout, while Obob Akim cut "Hausbreak" sees him brilliantly wrap old school U.S garage synth stabs and rising Italo-disco electronics around a punchy, electro style breakbeat.
Review:
Crazy P main man James Baron returns under his Ron Basejam alias, with more liquid nu-disco jams. Started as a casual side project 12 years ago, Baron wanted to 'capture the more diverse and quirky sides of his musical tastes', creating underground music that he incorporates with character, personality and humour. The After The Rain EP sees him return to Bristol institution Futureboogie, for the first time since 2016's "The Carrington Spirituals". Featuring the very soulful and near spiritual title track, the lo-slung funk attack of "The French Exit " and the late night acid express of "Raise" (featuring some vocals reminiscent of the legendary Daryl Pandy) among others - each one is a a sure shot and will light up the dancefloor.
Review:
Israeli tech house hero Guy Gerber returns on his esteemed Rumors imprint with remixes of his latest hit "What To Do" that caused a hot fuss earlier this year. The Los Angeles based live performer here receives remixes from Berliner &ME giving the track the deep and seductive Keinemusik style of treatment, while the Chicago underground hero DJ Jes also steps in to deliver a tough and swing fuelled deep house rendition.
Review:
According to our meticulous records, "My Hood" is the first collaborative single from sometime Relief Records and Monologue Music producer LEON, and recent Hot Creations signing Dennis Cruz. It sees them drag hip-house into the 21st century, layering a swaggering half rapped, half sung vocal atop a rubbery, driving backing track rich in fuzzy bass, rolling percussion and deliciously odd electronic noises. While good, we'd argue that Ewan Pearson's accompanying reworks are even better. Both the "Remix" and "Dub" versions operate at a slower, more chugging tempo, with the experienced producer wrapping mind-altering, psychedelic electronics and delay-laden dub-disco guitars atop a chunky, Italo-disco influenced groove. The "Dub" is naturally the more intoxicating of the two, though it's a close run thing.
Review:
Auntie Flo really pushed the boat out during the making of this album, which brilliantly fuses studio-created sounds with field recordings of vocalists and musicians made during almost seven years of journeys to the four corners of the globe. The results are uniformly excellent, with the Glasgow-born musician distilling a myriad of global rhythms and musical styles - Afro-Cuban jazz, souk, highlife, juju, ambient, synth-wave, South African house, soul, electrofunk, jazz and much, much more - into a breathtaking collection of breezy, life-affirming tracks. Highlights come thick and fast throughout, from the luscious Cuban soul of the Andrew Ashong-voiced "Havana Rhythm Dance" and the percussion-and-synths bliss of "Lights In The Northern Sky", to the joyous release that is "Cape Town Jam". In a word: brilliant.
Review:
Wolf Music - London purveyors of the real proper deep stuff - deliver on the same underground quality once again, in the form of this nifty little EP by Frits Wentink: one of Holland's finest. The final in a three-part series, the Bobby Donny boss continues to showcase his distinct style of lo-fi, wonky house - both quirky and unconventional, yet instantly endearing in the same breath. From the late night swing-fuelled groove of "Theme 09" to the slo-mo boogie down vibe of "Theme 11" (a tribute of sorts perhaps to Morgan Geist's neon-lit aesthetic) to just the same good ol' loopy jams you've come to expect like "Theme 12" that are jam packed with Wentink's usual dancefloor dynamics - dusted down, lo-slung and well bowled!
Review:
Ever-eclectic What Ever Not label boss Dodi Palese comes to Compost Black Label with a fine three-track EP. 'Erika' is up first, a shuffle-y, warm-up friendly cut with a dense, dusty feel, arpeggiated keys and just a hint of prog... which paves the way nicely for 'Rain Dance', a languid track that sits right on the deep house/progressive house cusp, and as such could find favour with a wide range of DJs and dancefloors. A more urgent, throbby remix of the latter by Lehar & Musumeci completes the EP which, like much of Palese's (and indeed the label's) output, is one for the connoisseurs rather than mass consumption.
Review:
The latest volume in Running Back's celebratory Mastermix series pays tribute to Hamburg's legendary Front club, which did much to popularize American house music (amongst other things) in Germany the late '80s and early '90s. The expansive set contains an epic DJ mix in two parts from original resident DJs Klaus Stockhausen and Boris Dlugosch, plus no less than 37 vintage cuts that made Front's dancers move. It's pretty much all solid-gold fare, with killer proto-house and first wave house jams being joined by obscure early UK electro (Syncobeat), Balearic deep house (Fila Brazillia's often-overlooked "Mermaids"), sleazy Italo-disco (Answering Machine), New Wave-era Euro dance, Paradise Garage-era New York anthems (Temper, Hot Streak), punk-funk (Modern Romance) and breezy, loved-up synth-pop (the brilliant Dub of Blue Moderne's "Through The Night").
Review:
In recent times, Krystal Klear's EPs have wholeheartedly paid tribute to a variety of (mostly New York-based) historic clubs, artists and dance music sub-genres. While he's officially broken the spell with The Division EP - his first outing on Running Back - for the most part it's still a heart-warming, retro-futurist treat. He kicks things off with the cheery, Italo-disco revivalism of "Neutron Dance", where throbbing synthesizer arpeggio lines and mid-80s melodies are underpinned by a bustling mid-tempo house groove, before slowing things down via the Balearic synth-pop shuffle of "Division Ave". Then you'll find more muscular, freestyle-meets-acid house fun (wild and mind-altering peak-time highlight "Shockzoid") as well as the baggy, glassy-eyed Balearic house rush of closer "Moonshake Mike".
Review:
Less than a month after Joey Negro dropped the original version of "Distorting Space Time" - a Lonnie Liston-Smith inspired chunk of intergalactic party disco rich in trippy instrumentation - as part of the vinyl-only Space Time EP, we're treated to a digital edition containing a trio of tasty reworks. Top of the pile is deep house don Ron Trent's sublime revision, which is not only typically warm, woozy and percussion rich, but also makes great use of dub delays and Joey Nergo's spacey FX. Elsewhere, Fouk successfully breaks up the beats on a formidably jazzy and bass-heavy interpretation, while Negro's own "Space Funk" take sits somewhere between luscious turn-of-the-80s jazz-funk and starlit electrofunk. The producer's use of crunchy Clavinet lines and talkbox scat vocals is particularly alluring.
Review:
Mangabey lets you know what his newest release is about from the outset, the pounding kick drum on 'Joy Kill' leaving nothing to the imagination. As loping funk underpins the power beneath, retro synths edge in as the track progresses, turning it into a real head nodder. Fouk pops up on the remix, ramping up the percussion and pairing it with some floating pads, the retro feel is amped up and a tinkling Rhodes piano turns this one into a proper journey of relaxation. Back to Mangabey and 'Broken Dub', a steppier interpretation of house music that injects some broken funk as well as dub - darker, moodier and a nice switch up. Glenn Astro brings up the rear on the remix and, with his gentle, warping pads, creates a rich tapestry of lowkey ambience from the start. An atmospheric take on the original that drops heaviness for lightness. A quality EP that any house lover will be into.
Review:
There's no doubt that Sophie Lloyd and Dames Brown's "Calling Out" - a gospel-disco stomper built around bold piano riffs, killer grooves and a strong, sing-along chorus - is fast becoming one of the anthems of 2018. This package doesn't boast the spine-tingling original, but rather some alternate takes from Floorplan (AKA Detroit techno legend Rob Hood and daughter Lyric Hood) and scalpel maestro Danny Krivit. The two Floorplan revisions naturally drag the track further towards storming gospel-house territory, with the fantastic Revival Mix - all crunchy Chi-Town drums, wild organs, jaunty pianos and relentless chorus - hitting home especially hard. Krivit, meanwhile, does a terrific job of teasing out the track before brilliantly alternating between Brown's jangling pianos solos and the killer chorus. Basically, Krivit's ten-minute take is arguably the definitive version.
Review:
Shir Khan unleashes another thrill-a-minute selection of disco-inspired workouts to get the dancefloor swinging. Bas Roos and Guy Steve kick things off with the good-time breeze of "Piece of Soul", where jazzy electric piano solos and ricocheting vocal samples ride a lolloping disco-house groove, before Freiboitar makes a stomping, French Touch style disco-house monster out of samples from one of the best-loved disco records of all time. Over on the flipside, Claus Caspar and Steve Philips whip their shirts off, reach for the poppers and lay down a stupendous slice of muscular late night disco-house. Featuring heavy, Moroder style arpeggio bass, razor-sharp disco strings and meaty house loops, "Sex Sells" is something of a sweaty party-starter.
Review:
Well isn't this quite the pairing - progressive house legend Sasha teams up with established Berlin DJ La Fleur (Watergate) for an awe-inspiring collaboration on the former's esteemed Last Night On Earth imprint. The result is "Forbindelse" a swing-fuelled and emotive expression in deep house that employs classic and timeless elements all the way for definite dancefloor euphoria. The Berlin based Swede La Fleur then flies solo on the terrific "Rooned" a woozy and hypnotic tech house cut that mixes elements both driving and ethereal to wonderful effect.
Review:
Having impressed Balearic sorts with four fine volumes of the "Coastal Soul" compilation series, you'd expect Apersonal Music's exploration of what they call the "lo-fi pop universe" to be rather good. On the whole, it is, with highlights coming thick and fast throughout, from the glistening Hawaiian guitars and gentle dub disco shuffle of Maurice Aymard's "Different Channels" and the lilting trumpets and rubbery dub bass of Jeep's luscious "Goldman Sachs Building", to the sparse tropical synth-pop of Ponzu Island's "Ponzu Logic" and the exceptionally dreamy Balearic nu-disco/slow house fusion of Pablo Bolivar and Sensual Physics' "Base". Whether any of it can genuinely be classed as "Lo-Fi Pop" is open to debate, but there's no doubt about the exceptional quality of the warm and melodious fare on offer.
Review:
It's been a whirlwind 12 months for DJ Seinfeld, who has gone from "unknown entity" to hyped producer in what seems like the blink of an eye. There's little doubt that this debut album on Lobster Fury will simply enhance his credentials further. It's a typically dusty and lo-fi affair, but far more positive in tone than your average crackly techno full-length. The Swedish producer makes extensive use of rubbery synth basslines, hazy R&B and pop vocal samples and the kind of production tricks more frequently found on disco-house and old US garage records (while, naturally, rarely sounding exactly like either style). In other words, the album is full of attractive, floor-friendly party techno for those who like their cuts fun and funky, rather than stern and severe.
Review:
The drum and bass pioneer Marcus Intalex (real name Marcus Kaye) passed away unexpectedly in 2017 aged 45. This posthumous three tracker is released under his undercover Art Vandelay alias intended for release on - naturally - Vandelay Industries (but coming out through his Birdie imprint) which will appeal to all the Seinfeld fans out there. From the tough and dusty swing-fuelled deepness of "Ballin" to the gutsy acid jack of "Dirty Thirty" and the soulful melancholic first wave Chicago vibe of "Olde Rotary" - it seemed that the best was yet to come from this true legend of the UK underground.
Review:
If your fame is built on delivering rock solid dancefloor cuts, should your subsequent albums stick to the same approach or mix it up a little? It's a conundrum that many artists have struggled with over the years. Smartly, Detroit Swindle has decided to hedge their bets with High Life following 2014's Boxed Out. As full length albums go, it's a bit of a peach, and sees the acclaimed Dutch duo flit between sensuous, home-listening fare, jaunty, instrumental-laden workouts (see the cheery, smoky pop-soul of Tom Misch hook-up "Yes, No, Maybe" and Afro-fired bounce of "Call of the Wild" featuring fellow Dutch combo Jungle By Night) and tried-and-tasty club tracks (Seven Davis Jr collaboration "Flavourism", the driving disco-house of "Freeqy Polly" and "Cut U Loose").
Review:
Philpot co-founder Soulphiction has been MIA for a while now, making it an utter pleasure to have him back on our charts with some effective new house swingers. He's landed on Local Talk, one of the very best in its class, and "Bizzness" kicks off with a funky-ass bassline and some freaky vocal chops, while "Cart People" lingers at a steadier sort of tempo, filtered through mounds of dubbed-out haze. "Slow Glow" is an experiment in percussion, also meandering its wavy synths on an off-kilter mode, and "Sweet Dreams" works the drum-machine in and out of the groove, ending up with another off-balance house experiment for the deeper minds out there on the floor!
Review:
"Where The One Is", the lead cut from Art of Tones' latest Local Talk release, sounds like a peak-time anthem in the making. Seemingly crafted using a mixture of cut-up Philadelphia soul samples, jammed-out new disco instrumentation and jazzy, ambidextrous house beats, it feels a little like a tooled-up, slightly more low-slung version of Blackjoy classic "Moustache". You'll find more low-slung, disco-fired, Clavinet-sporting heaviness where "Double Wheelin" provides further guaranteed peak-time pressure. As for "Reprise Du Fonk", it appears to be a quick-fire dub of "Where The One Is" featuring even more elastic bass guitar, jazz-wise guitar licks and life-affirming electro piano solos.
Review:
When it comes to crafting lengthy, disco fired dancefloor treats, DJ Koze has previous form. His "Extended Disco Version" of Lapsley's "Operator" quickly became a White Isle anthem in the summer of 2016, and we fully expect "Pick Up" to be one of the disco-house hits of 2018. Based around spine-tingling samples from a heart-felt, orchestrated 1970s disco treat - think Tom Trago's "Use Me Again", and you're close - the veteran producer slowly builds the pressure before really letting loose in the closing stages. Then "The Love Truck" is an altogether deeper, dubbier and dreamier affair, seemingly designed for leisurely warm-up sets and gentle, early morning shuffling.
Review:
Clone Royal Oak's latest outing is a simple idea, beautifully executed. It sees a trio of experienced producers offering up scalpel style reworks of classic cuts from Jovonn's early '89s Goldtone Records stable. Ian Pooley steps up first, delivering a chunky revision of sought-after 1993 cut "Pianos of Gold" that builds energy via a stripped-back, bass-heavy section before unleashing Jovonn's superb organ riffs, glassy-eyed deep house chords and sweaty vocal cut-ups. Next, DJ Deep delivers a snappy and perfectly pitched rearrangement of vibraphone-laden 1992 cut "Show U Love", before Detroit legend Mike Huckaby gets to work on Jovonn's 1991 debut "Be Free", brilliantly utilizing the breezy and soulful vocal on a version that subtly enhances the producer's classic New Jersey deep house original.
