Review: As house music veterans of some 15 years, it comes as no surprise that Inland Knights' latest, "Figure It Out", should be such an impressive slice of downtempo house action, with a vocal recalling classic hip house with a slo-mo angle to it. The duo have also assembled a formidable selection of remixes to accompany it; Corduroy Mavericks take things more upbeat with its jazz-house direction, Max Hebert adds a technier slant to proceedings, Flapjackers Funky adds a touch of New Jersey garage bounce and D-Bow takes things into submerged funk territory.
Review: Contrary to this new Canadian label's name there is nothing frosty about these deep, warm, jacking grooves. Courtesy of Hungarian house master Wallas, each one of the three originals on here thumps and wriggles with heartfelt groove soul. "Make Me Wanna" pumps with airy pads and a great sense of breezy space, while "Heavy Love Affaire" is straight up Chi-town jack-minded fun. "Trouble Man" flips the switch and returns to the original funk source for something more mid tempo and organic. With elements of jazz and soul, it's a really distinctive composition. Looking for more house-minded versions of "Trouble Man"? Head for Chanson E's blend (pumping with a delicate coating of glitches and subversive fills) or Thermo's rub (chugging and dubby). Both kill it.
Review: Frosted Recordings continue their promotion of groovy, feelgood house with a trio of cuts from the experienced but still relatively unknown J-Fader. The Portsmouth-based producer hits hard from the off, peppering the thickset, tech-tinged disco-house groove of "Caramel Dreams" with jazzy keys and notable Martin Luther King samples. The "Reconstruction Mix" is bumpy and stripped back, with flitered bass and skipping hits making it sound like a long lost Derrick Carter production. There's even more bumpiness to "Hay", a driving filtered house cut that gets locked into the groove and stays there, working a funky, filter-heavy rhythm for seven jackin' minutes.
Review: With just a few releases under his belt, Chanson E comes good with this summer-friendly house record. Drawing on the legacy of '90s house from both sides of the Atlantic, he is clearly inspired by labels like Prescription and Paper. "Summer Madness" is a disco-infused groove, littered with insistent stabs and powered by a swinging rhythm. "Soul Searching" isn't as tough. Revolving around a disco loop, the filtered vocals are reminiscent of classic DJ Sneak. Finally, there's "More Groove"; inspired by New York's Nu Groove catalogue, its moody bassline and rolling groove suggest a darker side to Chanson E's summer sound.
Review: Canadian producer Demuir's "Ode To Chicago" is well observed. The title track oozes soul (thanks to some Andres-style keys work), jazz swing (some Moodymann-ish drum fills), tracky hypnotism (the rolling groove and rising and falling bassline) and even a dash of good, old-fashioned boompty (think Derrick Carter after a few too many blunts). It's a fitting tribute to the Chi-Town sound, for sure, but is good enough to stand on its own two feet. There's more sensual, Andres-ish swing to "Mind Above The Clouds", whose sweet, jazz-flecked guitars work in perfect harmony with the restless bottom-heavy groove and winding, filtered chords.
Review: Hungarian-in-Budapest Disco Ballz has previously plied his trade on Visionmind Records and Bouncy Digital. Here he moves to Frosted Recordings for a two-track blast of driving, disco and funk-influenced house. "Who Is This Gangster" kicks things off, peppering a bassline-driven groove funky house groove with scratchy disco guitar and choice spoken vocal samples. "Take Me Real" flips the script a little, dropping a "Superstylin" style ragga vocal over a formidable bouncy house rhythm and nagging, low range keys. Disco Ballz works select passages of the vocal hard, creating serious energy with his cut-up production style.
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