Review:
Scotland's Soup Dragons hit the mainstream in 1990 with their cover of the Rolling Stones' "I'm Free". The Glaswegian four-piece were synonymous with the emerging 'Madchester' sounds of the time and the track reached almost anthemic proportions. These modern perspectives by nu-disco giants Midnight Riot still do the song justice: label staples Yam Who? team up with Alan Dixon Remix for a gospel like remix that reaches near spiritual moments, then all the Riot Allstars team up for a sultry and dubby nu-disco rendition until the man himself - Hifi Sean aka Soup Dragon's frontman Sean Dickson - wraps it up with his driving funky house makeover which is superb.
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:
Dortmund based producer Mr. Fries returns to Wolf Music for his third outing for the London label, with yet more sample heavy/MPC saturated cuts that follows up a terrific EP on Philpot. WOLFEP 045 opens with the sexy late night mood lighting of "Nocturnal" with its creamy Rhodes melody and dusty drums, the funky "Work" and its bass driven/Moodymann influenced groove, and the sunny open-air deepness of "Getright" which you could imagine hearing at a outdoor party on a summer Sunday in Berlin. Speaking of which, the fine EP closes out in blissed-out style with the very Money $ex/Tartelet sounding urban blues of "Thesimplethings" nailing that deep sound of the German capital.
Review:
Magic Feet boss Craig Bratley is not the most prolific producer in the world, but his sporadic EPs are usually excellent. Certainly, this outing on Futureboogie Recordings contains some superb music. Pulsating opener "99.9" - a body-jacking, Italo-influenced throb-job high on horror-influenced synthesizer melodies and foreboding riffs - is particularly potent, though wholehearted Italo-disco tribute "Italo Love" and the slo-mo chug-fest "Take Me To Bedford or Lose Me Forever" are almost as good. The EP also includes a sublime interpretation of "99.9%" by Andrew Weatherall, whose stretched-out take places exotic, snaking synth lines and yelping vocal samples over a Love From Outer Space-ready pitched-down groove.
Review:
If you dig Masterworks Music's celebratory, feel-good approach to disco re-edits and reworks, we'd advise picking up this bulging, 26-track collection of killer cuts from the label's recent past. It begins with a superb disco-funk cut-up by The Funk District and ends with a smooth, rolling and glassy eyed boogie-era disco revision by Saskin S that's almost worth the admission price on its own. In between, you'll find a swathe of superb revisions from some of the edit scene's finest - South Beach Recycling, Hotmood, Chewy Edits and Dr Packer included - with the selected tracks variously touching on electrofunk, boogie, P-funk, Latino disco and super-sweet '80s soul.
Review:
Mark Knight & Co. are straight up with their latest title - but considering their current 15th birthday celebrations, these guys can do whatever they want - they hardly do wrong anyway! House, Tech House, Techno Vol 2 does exactly what is says on the tin with a whopping 62 tracks and three continuous mixes - each dedicated to said subgenre. From that massive remix of Fatboy Slim's "Right Here, Right Now" by current scene favourites CamelPhat, Saved main man Nic Fanciulli's collaboration with Damon Albarn on "Saying" (Kolsch remix), label head honcho Knight himself steps up to deliver the pumping and white noise filled "We Get High From The Music" (feat Mr V) and the inimitable Danny Howells is always welcome - particularly with a track as electrifying as the recently released "Isolar".
Review:
Three cheers for Stefan Riesen's Morris Audio imprint, which has now notched up a century of releases after two decades in the game. By way of celebration, Riesen has decided to release a clutch of EPs containing a wealth of previously unheard gems. Part one begins with the Motor City influenced deep house jack of Iron Curtis's "Ultraviolett [100 Mix]", where shimmering chords slowly rise above sturdy beats and a wonderfully raw analogue bassline. Anna Wall and Corbi join forces for the sinewy deep house sensuality of "Tower of Babble" - all dreamy chords, lilting melodies and fuzzy analogue bass - before Repika serves up the hypnotic deep space chords and bustling bottom end grooves of "Don't Break". Arguably best of all, though, is the all-action contemporary Chicago house funkiness of Elvis Cassetta's "Lethargy Zero".
Review:
Soundersons slowly expanding discography is chock full of high-grade material, so it's little surprise to find that their latest Midnight Riot outing is also rather good. "Sopa De Tomate", in particular, is excellent - an ear-pleasing chunk of post-boogie/nu-disco goodness rich in chanted Italian vocal samples, bright synthesizer riffs, warm bass and densely layered percussion breaks. Label boss Yam Who provides a typically slick and soul-fired modern disco interpretation full to bursting with his trademark tasty instrumentation, before Glaswegian disco don Al Kent serves up an instrumental revision that sounds like it could have been made in Brooklyn in 1979. Bonus cut "He Doesn't Love Me", meanwhile, is a sparse and atmospheric late night nu-disco jam blessed with seriously rubbery synth-bass.
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:
Hot on the heels of Soundway's fantastic Gumba Fire compilation of South African boogie and synth-soul comes this partner EP, which shines a light on the country's short-lived but influential Heads Records imprint. The label was only originally active for two years between 1982 and '84, but in that time released a handful of killer 12" singles. A few of those came from Starlight, whose sought-after "Picnic" - a proto-bubblegum, boogie affair heavy on rising horns, jazz-funk electric piano solos and rubbery synth motifs - is arguably this EP's standout moment. Elsewhere, contemporary scalpel fiends get their chance to rework classic Heads Records moments, with Frankie Francis delivering dubbed-out renditions of two cuts: Manyane's stomping, Italo-disco-influenced "Thabong" and Adaye's gravelly, gospel-influenced peak-time disco-funk workout "Turn It Up".
Review:
It has been about 15 years since the arrival of Trevor Jackson's ambitious disco funk project Playgroup. Shortly after a series of terrific remixes surfaced, featuring alumni of his seminal Output imprint, in addition to some other emerging nu-disco talents of the time - presented here. These digital reissues still hold up and are are a zeitgeist of an exciting time in the early noughties: which laid the foundations for some exciting developments in underground music that followed shortly after. From Blackstrobe's exhilarating remix of "Number One" (one Ivan Smagghe and Arnaud Rebotini's finest moments), Chicken Lips' wicked disco dub re-rub of the same track was a worthy addition also. Whatever happened to the terrific Japanese producer Zongamin or Flesh Records' Midnight Mike is anyone's guess - but their lo-slung electro-pop perspectives of "Make It Happen" still sound as good today as they did back then.
Review:
Just a year shy of 20 years old, "Asiko (In A Silent Mix)" from Tony Allen's perennial Black Voices album enjoys a timely revision as part of Dekmantel's 10 year anniversary celebrations. This one comes from Motor City Drum Ensemble who maintains the dubby washes and pure spaciousness of Allen's original while refocussing the drums for more of a deeper dancefloor drive. Not quite as extensive as Villalobos's half hour remix but sometimes is a sweet seven minutes is the perfect punch. Jump on this.
Review:
Up next for Defected's In The House series is the UK's DJ Haus, 'a decidedly untraditional DJ, producer, originator and DIY label innovator.' The Unknown To The Unknown and Hot Haus Recs boss has received big props from the underground house community and in Defected's opinion: he's an ambassador for the future of house music. Quite a compliment there! Serving up a a wicked collection of raw and jacking sounds that encompass electro, Chicago house, disco, techno and UK garage: and all very much on the lo-fi tip. The supporting cast on DJ Haus In The Haus is quite a remarkable one and musical highlights are not limited to: NYC hero X-Coast (who is fresh off a killer release on Underthesea) with last year's sleeper hit "Mango Bay", Aussie larrikin and Steel City Dance Discs boss Mall Grab with the wicked "Pool Party" through to stateside jams by Justin Cudmore - who gives us a taste of the acid life on "Forget It" and so does the master Matrixxman on the epic "The Spell" (Original Mix).
Review:
Next up on German imprint Suol is Berlin legend Till Von Sein. He doesn't need a big introduction ahead of them telling you about his brand new EP called 1977 Love. What you perhaps don't know is that 1977 is the year Till was born - and this release is number 077 in the label's catalogue. He's back with more of his distinct blend of dusty and urban flavoured deep house on the jazzy tip. From the soul/funk inflected swagger of "Curtis" with its infectious breakbeats, the straight-ahead four-to-the-floor deep groove of "Stevie" and the emotive "Pepe" which goes for a more emotive, nu-jazz kind of feel that further demonstrates the diversity in this underrated producer's repertoire.
Review:
If you are looking for sunshine garage flavours then seriously, look no further than this super vibrant single from Blakk Habbit. From the off we are introduced to nostalgic drum shuffles, colourful vocal manoeuvres, expressive sub melodies and super bouncy rhythms, all the ingredients required to pull of a UKG insta classic. This release also comes complete with an extended club mix alongside a vocal club mix, making this one playable at all occasions!
Review:
When it comes to crafting glassy-eyed gems that join the dots between colourful, loved-up Italian dream house and buzzing, breakbeat-driven early UK house, few are quite as consistently on-point as Hungarian producer Gnork. Handily, further proof of his skills has arrived via this superb EP on Magicwire. While "Tokyo Brakes" is wonderfully deep, spacey and wavy, and "Magic Arpz" pushes the tempo up to 140 with predictably giddy results, it's opener "Yoga On E" that really sparkles. Tactile, kaleidoscopic, groovy and as rush inducing as 808 State's similarly-minded "Pacific", it sounds like the perfect record to soundtrack sunset somewhere hot and steamy. That said, bubbling mid-tempo Balearic house closer "Ezoteric Massage (Extended Pleasure Mixxx)" is as deep, beautiful and picturesque as they come.
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:
While Ben Worrall's debut album as Crackazat, 2015's slightly overlooked Crescendo, was quietly impressive, this sophomore set is simply superb. Naturally musically rich - Worrall is a brilliant producer, but has always been a very talented musician, too - the set sees him lay down ten tracks that gleefully join the dots between slick jazz-funk instrumentation, sensual and soulful vocals, brilliantly played solos and grooves that put the dancefloor first and foremost. While there are a few downtempo explorations dotted throughout (the dreamy synth chords and meandering synth-sax of "Midnight In Sector Six" standing out), it's naturally the quality and quantity of his U.S garage, soulful house and deep house cuts that impresses most.
Review:
We were very happy to see the legendary Bomb Strikes imprint make their return to releasing after a brief break away, returning to the fray with this fabulously groovy number from The Niceguys. The EP begins with 'That Ass', a smooth funkadelic jam session, featuring scattered vocal slices, exciting keyboard riffs and of course some wicked drum work. We are also gifted the more 4x4 infused sounds of 'Valley Hacienda', a soulful bag of harmonies, working wonders between the spaces in the 4x4 rhythms. A very pleasing project to say the least!
Review:
Publicity shy producer Themba first appeared on Hot Since '82's Knee Deep In Sound label earlier in the year, raising more than a few eyebrows with a fine debut three-tracker entitled "Paliva". Naturally, there's plenty to set the pulse racing on this rock solid follow-up. Lolo Vilakazi guests on ear-catching opener "Haia", delivering woozy and life-affirming vocalizations over a riff-heavy, bouncy, Afro-tinged house rhythm whose bold string stabs reminded us a little of DJ Gregory classic "Elle". Elsewhere, "Exodus" sees Demba wrap bold and beautiful piano motifs and bubbling electronics around another bouncy rhythm track, while "Shaka" delivers a perfect balance between foreboding electronics, jangling motifs, ever-building synth flourishes and dense tribal drums.
Review:
By now, we should all know what to expect from Toolroom's "Poolside Ibiza" compilation strand, namely groovy nu-disco, house and laidback Balearic beats inspired by afternoons spent lounging by the water in stonking White Isle heat. Naturally, there are plenty of gems to be found amongst the 40 unmixed tunes selected by chosen DJs Moullinex and Xinobi, from their own collaborative post-punk/dub number "X Marks The Spot", to the slick '80s synth-pop dreaminess of Tensnake's fine remix of Xinobi's "Far Away Place" and the drowsy, Morricone-influenced soundscape weirdness of Simple Symmetry's remix of Moscoman's "I Ran". Throw in some seriously good cuts from Felipe Gordon, Donald Dust, Pin Up Club and Meera (whose carnival-ready boogie jam "Fine Without You" stands out), and you have a fine collection of summery cuts.
