Exploited Rec is known for uncovering new talent. A born-and-bred Berliner (now based in Bangkok), Shir Khan started Exploited in his home city in 2007. A decade into shaping careers of artists like Claptone, Adana Twins, Joyce Muniz and Budakid, Shir Khan continues to remain on the pulse of the global underground shaping dance music through his label, productions and unconventional, uncompromising and unpredictable sets.
Review: In which James 'Greenskeepers' Curd teams up with his British oppo Eddie 'Slum Science' Leader, with predictably high-calibre house music results. The tough-but-deep groover that is 'Feeling Mumbled' first dropped a few months back; now along come new mixes courtesy of Baby Rollen and Leader himself. There's a nostalgic feel to Baby Rollen's rub - it's vaguely reminiscent of all those early prog trax on Guerilla and Cowboy Records, circa 92-93, and that's by no means a diss. Leader's rub wins out for yours truly, though, sticking to the original's deeper vibe while adding some fine jazzy piano licks.
Review: If you're in the mood to don blusher, blue eyeshadow and a two-tone leather blouson and party like its early 80s Berlin, you could do a lot worse than check out this three-way team-up between Essen's Diar Storm, who describes her music as "tragic dark wave/electronic with a nostalgic 80s touch", French Touch survivor Play Paul and Indonesia's Cyda. Cyda's remix revisits that glacial Euro sound that just drips in Cold War paranoia, while Captain Mustache opts for a deeper, darker groove more reminiscent of EBM and Belgian New Beat. Retro-tastic fun for all the synth fanatics out there.
Review: Budakid returns to Exploited Records with "Infinity," a two-track EP offering contrasting journeys through the world of house and indie dance. The title track, "Infinity," is a true voyage. An effervescent bassline and clever filter tweaks propel the listener forward, while euphoric melodies add layers of light and shade. A wide-open breakdown creates a moment of weightlessness before the track surges back to life, pulling you back into the groove. "The Curse" takes a nostalgic turn, channeling 90s vibes with its warm chords and snappy breaks. The playful interplay of two intertwined synth lines adds a layer of complexity and keeps the energy flowing.
Review: 18 months on from his last outing on Exploited, 'Take Me Back', long-serving Mancunian drummer, DJ and producer Danny Ward returns to the popular German imprint with a double dose of dancefloor dubs. Opener 'Joy (Piano Dub)' more than lives up to the promise of its title, with Ward wrapping arms-aloft piano stabs and high-end electronic melodies around a chunky, mid-90s US house bassline and pleasingly weighty drums. He dons the alternative Dubble D alias on the accompanying 'Nostalgia Piano Dub', a hip-house breakbeat-driven re-interpretation that's every bit as rushing and excitable as the regular 'Piano Dub'.
Review: 'Welt Am Draht' (or 'World On A Wire') was a cult German sci-fi TV show from the early 70s and while it's not explicitly stated, we're guessing that's informed the sound of this Shir Kham-compiled seven-track, seven-artist EP, which is replete with atmospheric, retro-futurist grooves, some of which - 'Balin Bali' in particular - would sound right at home on a sci-fi soundtrack. But it's not all John Carpenter synths and cinematic moodiness: cuts like 'And You' and 'High Energy' are aimed fair and square at the dancefloor. If tuff, proggy, Italo-esque vibes are what you're after this week, this is one to check for sure.
Review: Shir Khan's popular Black Jukebox series - an outlet for weighty, club-focusedcuts often doused in disco flavours or nostalgic nods to 1990s house music - reaches its 35th instalment. The man at the controls this time round is sometime Black Riot, Half Assed and Large Music contributor Ralph Session. DJ Amir lends a hand on opener 'That Raw', a hazy, thickset deep house number replete with rising and falling melodies and hushed spoken word vocals, before Session goes solo on the jauntier, piano-and-sax-sporting positivity of 'Do It'. Elsewhere across the EP, 'If You Want' is a deeper, smoother and warmer late-night box jam that packs plenty of percussive punch, while standout 'Raw Sax' wraps snaking saxophone solos and echoing synth riffs around a weighty acid bassline and genuinely jacking drums.
Jacob B & Richie Corrigan - "Paradise" - (7:22) 142 BPM
Review: As the title makes clear, Shir Khan's 'Exploited Club Trax' series - which here reaches its' eighth instalment - is not bound by a complicated concept: it's merely about making people dance... and ideally in the most energetic, enthusiastic way possible. The long-serving DJ has once again selected plenty of no-nonsense, peak-time ready treats, all of which are guaranteed to get dancers in a spin. There's plenty to set the pulse racing across the 15 tracks on show, with our picks including the fiendishly sub-heavy, mid-90s piano house rush of 'Hurts' by Black Hawks of Panama (featuring vocals from Bisi), the Italo-meets-robo-disco bounce of Packim's 'Tanzen', a brilliant booty bounce revision of Aiwaska's 'Imagination' courtesy of DJ Assault, and the 8-bit electro-disco of Levantine's 'Disco Relaxation'.
Review: Mancunian DJ/producer Danny Ward aka Moodymanc collaborates with the legendary Diane Charlemagne, whose work you may know from albums by Goldie, Moby, High Contrast and London Elektricity to name but a few. The result is "Take Me Back" on Berlin-based label Exploited, a retro futurist track that's at once deep and soulful. You can bet Ward returns under his trusted Dubble D alias as well, providing some very nice vocal and dub remixes.
Review: There are cuts to suit a range of tastes on this three-tracker from Germany's Enduro Disco, a purveyor of "contemporary disco for the discerning ear". 'Julio' itself blends elements of 70s disco and 80s boogie and European electronica, and could find favour on a range of floors. The 80s vibes come further to the fore on 'One Jam', which also has vaguely tropical overtones, while completing the package is 'Standing Up', a more meandering and contemplative affair with a slight leftfield twist. It's all perhaps more suited to long afternoon sets than peaktime dancefloor action, but worth checking all the same.
Review: Spaziale Recordings boss Stefano Ritteri takes centre stage for the latest edition of Shir Khan presents Black Jukebox 32! Turning in four sweet electro based tracks that reference all manner of killer groups, genres and dance styles, get your fandangled industrial Italo electro from "Donna" - as if somehow inspired by Yello - next to some gushing disco expressions in "Slow Tripping" to make any dancer drunk with love. Pushing towards a slightly new wave tip in "Brutesque" (as if slightly referencing Stereolab & Nurse With Wound) there's more joy to be found in the deep and spacey UKG of "Robot Luv". Can you feel it.
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