Review: Those with a very deep knowledge of Chicago house history may be familiar with this one, which first slipped out way back in 1987 on the tiny Jack Street imprint. Here reissued digitally for the very first time, courtesy of Palms Trax's CWPT label, 'Body Fidelity' was produced by Reginald Rodgers, mixed by DJ Pierre and features vocals from Tonia Stevens. The opening, 'House Club Mix' is a classic slab of glassy-eyed, acid-era Chicagoan brilliance, with sweat-soaked percussion fills and a hugely memorable bassline driving the track forever forwards. The track's inherent energy and thrill-a-minute excitement is ratcheted up further by the TB-303-soaked 'Percusapella Mix' and the bassline dominated 'Bass-Ment Mix'. The Hot Mix 5-friendly 'Radio Mix' completes a fine package.
Review: A warm welcome back to Jay Donaldson AKA Palms Trax, who launches his new label CWPT with his first fresh EP since he appeared on Dekmantel two years ago. Musically, 'Petu' is arguably one of the most original and ear-catching things he's released during his career, with vocalist Nonku Phiri making her presence felt atop a gorgeous combination of spacey Italo-disco synths, punchy horns, densely layered percussion and throbbing synthesizer arpeggio lines. It comes accompanied by an almost vocal-free Dub and a killer remix by Masalo, who smartly re-casts the cut as a squelchy and surging slab of celebratory Italo-disco brilliance.
