Review: Fred Everything's first album for six years is undoubtedly a labour of love - an expansive, musically detailed excursion that channels the spirit of great electronic albums of the early 2000s while keeping its focus firmly on dancefloors. Featuring subtle horn arrangements, occasional strings, his trademark colourful synth sounds and a swathe of high-profile guest vocalists, it feels like the kind of 'statement album' that only a producer with his experience could make. More importantly, it's full of future classics too, from the liquid dancefloor soul of Sapele hook-up 'A Long Time Coming', Atjazz-esque deep house beauty of 'Evening Ghost' and the Robert Owens-sporting broken house gem 'Never', to the spacey future-boogie of 'Moonrise', the dubbed-out dancefloor headiness of 'Soul Love' (featuring Stereo MC's), and the breakbeat-driven sunshine of 'A Good Day'.
Review: A meeting of musical minds here as French deep and soulful house veteran Fred Everything teams up with UK rap and trip-hop originators Stereo MCs. 'Soul Love', in its Original form, tops a slow, sparse and dubwise backbeat with Balearic-ish synth washes and a heavily treated, half-spoken/half-sung vocal from Stereos main man Rob Birch to create an instant weeded-out, sofa-surfin' delight. The accompanying Edit loses some of the more reggaefied elements in the trimming process, but sticking to the Original is strongly advised - if only because there's a bit more of it. A collaboration that turns out to be pleasingly more than the sum of its parts.
Review: Later in the Spring, Fred Everything will release his sixth and arguably finest album to date, 'Love, Care, Kindness & Hope'. You'll have to wait to hear that, but this single - featuring the undisputed 'voice of house', Robert Owens - offers a tantalising glimpse of what's to come. Available in edited and full-length forms, 'Never' features a classically emotive and genuinely inspiring Owens lead vocal atop bubbling acid bass, sumptuous chords, warming horns (arranged and performed by Finn Peters), pulsing electronics and the kind of loose and languid broken-house beats that have long been a feature of his friend Atjazz's work. It's a brilliant song and single all told - something that works as well in the headphones as on club soundsystems.
Review: Hague-based Offshore & Coen return to Lazy Days following a fine recent outing on Atjazz Record Co. The Dutch deep house duo is in fine form, too, with all four original productions on show hitting the spot sonically. The centre piece of the EP is arguably 'Everything Passes', a gorgeous chunk of synth-laden, melody-driven deep house beauty that Freerange regular Matt Masters subsequently turns into an even deeper and more rolling late-night affair. There's plenty to get the blood pumping elsewhere across the EP, including opener 'Around Midnight', a hypnotic and sun-soaked number driven forwards by a memorable bassline, and the breakbeat-driven deep house dreaminess of 'Acquiescent Song'.
Review: Katlego 'KaySoul' Tjale has released a lot of largely impressive music over the last few years, most notably for Dirt Crew, Shall Not Fade and Moiss Music Black. 'Blind' marks the prolific producer's first outing on Lazy Days, and there's no doubt that it's a touch sunnier, deeper and more soul-flecked than many may expect. Sure, the groove and synth sounds used tend towards the tech-tinged end of the deep house spectrum, but Kristina Sheli's superb lead vocal and some addictive melodic refrains push the track further towards tech-soul territory. The accompanying 'Laidback Mix' sees Tjale make great use of warmer pads and a deliciously squelchy TB-303 style bassline, while 'Vous Vous' is a sparkling, sun-drenched affair that's as attractive as it is seriously summery.
Review: On the label's latest compilation of recent releases, overlooked treats and previously unreleased gems, Lazy Days Recordings is showcasing the more sun-splashed and summery end of the imprint's frequently gorgeous output. Naturally, there's plenty to set the pulse racing throughout, from the throbbing mid-tempo deep house disco of Milton Jackson and Ski Oakenfull's 'Got To Find' and the P-funk-flavoured sun-down deepness of Art of Tones' sublime remix of 'Rusty Lewis' by Beau Zwart, to the hypnotic, low-slung and dubbed-out peak-time brilliance of Manuel Sagahun's 'Kick To Flip' and the gorgeous soulfulness of Matt Masters' 'I've Opened My Eyes'. As you'd expect, there are also quite a few killer contributions from label co-founder Fred Everything, including a fine collaboration with fellow deep house veteran Atjazz ('Stay a Little While').
Review: Fresh from blurring the boundaries between jazz-house and deep house on May 2023's 'Look What You've Done', Matt Masters returns to Lazy Days Recordings with another summer special. In its' original form (track one), the track is a deep, dreamy and sun-soaked slab of mid-tempo dancefloor soul informed by both deep house and the classier end of the synth-soul spectrum. Masters serves up a starry instrumental take before Art of Tones drops vocal and instrumental reworks of his own, both of which revolve around Afrobeat-inspired drums, funky disco guitars, stirring synth strings and sparkling piano stabs. They're great remixes all told and perfectly compliment Masters' superb original versions.
Review: Last time he appeared on Lazy Days Recordings, Freerange Records regular Matt Masters was in collaboration with fellow deep house veteran Milton Jackson. Here, he goes solo, offering up a sun-soaked slab of dreamy deep house/jazz-house fusion ('Look What You've Done') marked out by eyes-closed female vocal samples, bossa-house beats, effects-laden jazz samples and twinkling piano motifs. Lazy Days co-founder Fred Everything provides the accompanying remix, reaching for bleeping melodies, bubbly synth-bass, slightly toughened up drums and clumps of Masters' most melodic, summery instrumentation. It's a great remix with plenty of peak-time potential, though it does lack the breezy blissfulness of Masters' dusty original version.
Review: As far as we're aware, this EP on Lazy Days Recordings marks the first time that these two British scene stalwarts - long-serving Scottish house producer Milton Jackson and sometime Galliano keyboardist turned solo artist Ski Oakenfull - have joined forces in the studio. The headline attraction is undoubtedly 'Integration', a gorgeously colourful fusion of synth-pop-influenced sunshine house and Italo-style, arpeggio-driven nu-disco. Lazy Days head honcho Fred Everything provides a more tactile, loved-up dub, while there are two bonus cuts to enjoy: sun-splashed Balearic deep house number 'Got To Find', and 'Verve', an Italo-goes-deep house solo chugger from Milton Jackson.
Review: Given that pretty much all of Lazy Days' output is pleasingly sunny and warm, you'd expect this 10-track collection of summer-friendly jams to be particularly hot, humid and life-affirming. Check first the sunset-ready, piano-sporting shuffle of Shur-I-Kan and Joakim's 'Beats, Strings & Nothing Gold', before admiring the intergalactic, stargazing throb of Versatirds legend I:Cube's 'Parisian Sleaze' mix of Fred Everything's 'Barbarella'. The quality threshold remains pleasingly high throughout, with further highlights appearing thick and fast. Manual Sahagun's surprisingly jazzy and Balearic 'Rest In Sax', Atjazz's slick rework of Fred Everything and Robert Owens' 'I'll Take You In' and Prins Thomas' epic 'Discomiks' of Fred Everything's 'Here' are all superb.
Review: There's something especially alluring about 'The Time Is (Now)', the lead cut from deep house veteran Fred Everything's latest EP, though we're struggling to put our finger on it. Maybe it's the rolling, shaker-heavy drum track, the bold and beautiful bassline, the soundscape electronics or the cut's smiling, effortless positivity. Whatever it is, the track is fantastic - high-quiality deep house that suits a variety of dancefloor situations. It comes backed with two alternative takes -a darker, more driving and percussion-heavy 'dub' mix and a sparse, slowly building 'Reprise' take - plus two bonus cuts: the organ and piano heavy classic house vibes of 'L'Horizon' and the deeper, dreamier flex of 'Paintings'. High-grade deep house for those who love good grooves, addictive basslines and tasteful musicality.
Review: Given their respective track records - both have been serving up quality deep house for decades - you'd expect this hook up between Atjazz and Fred Everything to be high quality. It is, of course, with the original mix of 'Stay a Little While' offering a winning blend of smooth, spacey synths, delay-laden keys, Motor City-inspired electronics, undulating bass, unfussy beats and stirring, life-affirming pads. The accompanying 'Mechant Dub' is naturally a little more spaced out, with the pair prioritising the groove, bassline and mind-mangling electronics. It's a proper 4AM number, tailor-made for dark rooms and dry ice-filled dancefloors.
Review: Dutch producer Beau Zwart is not a name many will recognise, but in the past he's proved adept at blurring the boundaries between kaleidoscopic synth-funk, jazz-funk and deep house. That's the vibe he's opted for on this fine EP for Lazy Days Recordings. This exciting, squelchy, rubbery and vibrant sound is best exemplified by the title track, which sits somewhere between P-funk and piano house but can also be heard on the deeper and jazzier 'Bambino Breaks', the more electro-inspired, TB-303 flecked warmth of 'No Exit' and the picturesque, post deep-house shimmer of 'Safe Shave'. Art of Tones steps up to remix 'Rusty Lewis', turning it into even more of a synth-splashed P-funk treat.
Review: Buenos Aries-based Manuel Sahagun has appeared on my much-loved deep house labels over the years - think Freerange, Drop Music, Salted Music and Kolour Recordings - so it's little surprise to see him popping up on Lazy Days Recordings. All three tracks naturally hit the spot, with the Argentinian reaching for colourful synth sounds, tactile basslines and well-programmed drums. Opener 'La Terre' is a sparkling, sun-drenched slab of nu-disco/deep house fusion rich in vivid melodies and low-end thrust, 'Kick To Flip' is a more hypnotic slab of dub-flecked, acid bass-propelled late-night house, and 'Rest in Sax' is a deliciously jazzy fusion of body-popping electro drums, squelchy synths, trippy TB-303 lines and heady saxophone blasts.
Review: Tom Szirtes' recent digital-only album, Points of Focus, was not only a fine showcase for his undoubted musical skills, but also a pleasingly varied affair that contained just as many downtempo excursions and dancefloor bombs. He's in full-on sun-kissed, club-ready mode on his latest Lazy Days outing though, with the ultra-positive title track delivering a near perfect blend of jazzy disco bass, hands-in-the-air piano riffs, sweeping strings, cowbell-driven drums and colourful synthesizer flourishes. It comes backed by early morning deep house roller 'Bubblin' Up', squelchy nu-disco/broken beat fusion gem 'Shut This Down' (where vocalist Anna Stubbs makes a big impression) and a luscious, long-build 'Reprise' mix of 'Beats, Strings & Life' which sounds like a perfect summer set opener.
Review: This year, Fred Everything has been busy revisiting tracks from his back catalogue. The latest cut to get the revisionist treatment is 'Barbarella', a gorgeously intergalactic fusion of deep house and squelchy nu-disco that first featured on his 2018 album Long Way Home. The headline-grabbing revision comes courtesy of Parisian legend I:Cube, who reinvents the track as a sleazy, spaced-out chunk of metronomic synth-pop/space disco fusion with added acid bass and lashings of starry-eyed synths. Fred Everything provides two 'Slow Down' versions, both of which shuffle along at 89 BPM. The main mix is a street soul tempo wide-eyed shuffler, while the 'ReDub' is a sparse, analogue bass-propelled late-night treat full of echoing beats and sharp, mind-mangling acid lines.
Review: Fred Everything's recent collaboration with the undisputed "voice of house", Robert Owens, was exceptional: a nostalgic chunk of vocal deep house greatness that boasted a number of sonic nods towards the hippy-house brilliance of San Francisco's Dubtribe Soundsystem. Here the Canadian offers up two new mixes inspired by classic Chicagoan acid house. The single-opening 'BDTW Acid Mix' adds Owens' inspiring vocals to an immersive backing track rich in wriggling TB-303 acid lines, chunky acid bass, crunchy, jacking beats and starry, deep space chords. Arguably even better is the accompanying 'Acid Dub', in which selected snippets of Owens' vocals rise above rougher, more angular acid lines, even more jacking drums and some deliciously glassy-eyed musical flourishes.
Review: 'Here (Now)' first appeared as the B-side of the 2020 Vision released 'Over You' single way back in 2003. The deep house stalwart decided to revisit it last year and here presents the results alongside the still delicious original - an ultra-deep, locked-in late-night affair full of drowsy chords, arpeggio-driven synth bass and spacey keys that still sounds as good as it did all those years ago. The Canadian's own '2020: A Space Disco Odyssey' revision undoubtedly takes it up a notch, focusing more on the arpeggio-driven bassline while adding starry electronic flourishes, melancholic strings and deep, intergalactic chords. Equally as impressive is Prins Thomas's epic 'Discomiks', a ten-minute workout that sees the Norwegian layer Fred Everything's keys, chords and samples atop his own live-sounding drums and dub disco bass.
Review: To mark 15 years of the Lazy Days Recordings label he established with Mike Fresco in 2005, Canadian deep house legend Fred Everything has decided to release a trilogy of celebratory compilations, each of which focuses on a specific five-year block. This one celebrates the best material released on the label over the last five years (2015-2020), delivering thrills by the barrowload. Everyone will have their own highlights, but our picks of an extremely strong bunch include the early Larry Heard style warmth of Lance DiSardi's 'Field Recording', the early morning shuffle of Fred Everything's 'Someone Like You', the rushing piano house revival of Fred Everything and Shur-I-Kan's glassy-eyed 'Until Then', and the glacial, tech-tinged goodness of Martin Iveson's 'Leave Me Here'.
Review: Since Fred Everything has a track record of making rather good deep house, and vocalist Robert Owens has a bigger claim than most to be "the voice of house", you'd expect this 'I'll Take You In' to be rather good. It is, of course, with the pair conjuring up a warming, musically detailed chunk of deep house bliss that sounds like a saucer-eyed update of Dubtribe Soundsystem's 'Do It Now'. Fred Everything also provides two fine 'BDTW' mixes: the fluttering synths sounds and vintage Chicago house grooves of the 'Deep Mix', and a more stripped-back 'Vox Dub'. Best of all though is Martin 'Atjazz' Iveson's rework, which recalls the fluid synth sounds, jazzy flutes and intricate percussion programming that marked out his early 2000s work on Mantis Recordings.
Review: Canadian legend Fred Everything has been heading up the esteemed Lazy Days imprint for the last decade and a half. 'LZD XV' sees the Montreal-based operation deservedly celebrating this milestone across - you guessed it - 15 tracks. Features more mood music than you'll ever need in one place, with some right classics from a who's who of industry talent: Danish stalwart Trentemoller appears with his glitchy electro house remix of Everything's "Friday" featuring Vanessa Baker, the worthy addition of Bananza Music boss Marko Miltano's smooth vocal deep house number "Down So Low", and then Everything notably teams up with Windy City legend JT Donaldson on "I Said". Elsewhere, heroes of the Dallas underground Brett Johnson & Dave Barker get down with some boompty business on "On The Highway" and closing it out is the label chief, once more, with Mantis Recordings chief Atjazz on the sensual "Back Together".
Review: It would be fair to say that Ludovic Lllorca rarely fails to deliver the goods, especially when operating under the now familiar Art of Tones alias. His latest missive on Lazy Days offers further supporting evidence of this theory. He opens with two versions of squelchy, synth-laden deep house cut "Thunder": a chunky "Original Mix" built around undulating acid bass, sparkling electronic motifs, chunky drums and effects-laden vocal snippets, and a tougher dub that features even more of the ear-catching bassline and sweaty, swinging percussion. "Secousse" is a much more jaunty, bouncy and bumping affair, with the veteran French producer once again making great use of colourful synths and electronic bass. Fred Everything gives the track a far deeper, late-night hue on his warm and woozy accompanying remix.
Review: Deep warehouse vibes in this rhythm, chord and synth rich EP from Paul Rudder! Channeling the sounds of summer through cooling tropical synths, some bassline house, heavy chords and the tremolo of Segilola's voice, Rudder's tracks "Glue" and "Asleep" hit the hopeful, effervescent sweet spots! Exotic birdsong included, a techier yet light and bouncy John Gomes 'Dubstrumental' offers something a little tougher next to a remix which shines with the hallmarks of a classic house trip - tip!
Review: Experienced producer Shur-I-Kan (Tom Szirtes to his nearest and dearest) tends to develop long relationships with labels. In the early days of his career it was Freerange Records, but for the last seven years he's operated on Fred Everything's Lazy Days Recordings imprint. He returns to that stable with "This Situation", a three-track EP that confidently moves between warm, percussive dreaminess (the locked-in grooves, jazzy bass guitar, warm chords and echoing vocal samples of opener "Freakin"), bright-and-breezy nu-disco/deep house fusion (tasty title track "This Situation") and the more off-kilter, locked-in loop-funk of jazzy stomper "Taking The A-Train". The latter's rhythm genuinely sounds like a train rumbling along a track, which is quite impressive.
Review: As the title makes perfectly clear, the latest compilation from Mike Fresco and Fred Everything's Lazy Days Recordings label offers up a wealth of new and old reworks from the imprint's sizable vaults. Fred Everything is naturally prominent throughout both as remixer - see the distinctive takes on cuts by OJPB (a sun-flecked Afro-house revision of "Bridgetown's Pyramid") and Art of Tones (a lushly deep and dreamy remix of "Koniokola") - and original artist (check Sphiwe Caz-Miz's deep, dusty and woozy tweak of "Searching" and Ian Pooley's bright and breezy revision of "Silverlight"). Elsewhere Jimpster steals the show with a superb version of Martin Iveson's "Leave Me Here", Hot Toddy gets discofied on his LLorca remix and the Revenge weighs in with a jaunty, synth-heavy house rework of Art of Tones' "Unstopped").
Review: Coming in with the funky house flavours this month are Paso Doble and Idd Aziz, whose track 'Djadjalo' has been given the remix treatment by Fred Everything across four different renditions, all of which play on the already-wicked original in a slightly different way. The main mix is, as the name suggests, the main mix. It sprawls across 8 minutes and is deep house at its finest, touching upon synth-based relaxation, tribal influences on the fantastic vocal as well as more classic house notes. It's deft, deep and damn good.
Review: Deep house from the organic side is the order of the day on this latest offering from Fred Everything's Lazy Days stable. 'Sun Rising' itself is presented in two mixes: Rudder's original opens with intricate hand percussion, then slowly introduces piano chords before the live-sounding bassline and midtempo 4/4s arrive, followed by mournful trumpets and barely-there female vocal snips. Till Von Sein takes a slightly more floor-friendly route on his remix, stripping out some of the layers of live instrumentation and letting the trumpet, in particular, shine through more clearly. The contemplative, jazz-leaning 'Spent With Her' completes the EP.
Review: We were full of praise for Fred Everything's 2018 album "Long Way Home" - the Canadian's first full-length excursion in a decade - so we have high hopes for this expansive remixed version. There's naturally some revisions by friends and high profile remixers, with Atjazz's deliciously intergalactic deep house take on "Spacetime", Ilia Rudman's slow Balearic boogie revwork of "Palma" being arguably the most notable. Elsewhere, the Lazy Days co-founder offers up a string of fine alternative versions of his own - see the sparkling, piano-heavy "7AM in Tisno" dub of "Barbarella" and the stunning, beat-free "Somewhere Ambient Version" of "Something for starters - as well as a handful of fine dubs and some previously unheard tracks ("Un Dimache Soir", "Alright (Original Mix)").
Review: "Wonderwhy" was one of the many highlights on Llorca's jazz-funk-fired 2017 album, "The Garden". Here it gets the remix treatment, with Crazy P man Chris Todd (under his now familiar Hot Toddy moniker) and Lazy Days boss Fred Everything doing the honours. Todd's vocal "Remix" and "Instrumental" versions are predictably musical and melodious, sitting somewhere between spacey, synth-heavy nu-disco, fizzing jazz-funk and rolling deep house. Fred Everything takes a different approach, opting for a "Space Edit" and "Space Edit Instrumental" that slightly dub out and heat up the original's 95 BPM jazz-funk/disco fusion flex.
Review: In its original form, Fred Everything's latest collaboration - this time with sugar-voiced British soul man Jinadu - breathes new life into a once mighty variation of deep house: dub house. Rich in sub-heavy dub bass, delay-laden reggae guitars, dreamy chords and UK steppas style drums, it's every bit as good as anything you would have heard in the late '90s or early 2000s. Ian Pooley offers up two contrasting remixes. While the more straight-up deep house vocal take is rather good, we still prefer his 'Dub' revision, which wraps delay-laden synthesizer motifs and head-in-the-clouds electronic flourishes around snappy drums and Fred Everything's killer dub-style bassline.
Review: You couldn't wish for a more expert duo than Fred Everything and Crazy P mainstay Chris "Hot Toddy" Todd. Either solo or in collaboration with others, they've been responsible for too many fine records to mention over the last two decades. This collaborative affair is rather good, too. "Same Old Sound", a deep, slow-motion nu-boogie number rich in sparkling, glassy-eyed chords, catchy synth-bass, tasty jazz-funk guitars and head-nodding drum machine beats, sounds like a particularly loved-up tribute to Dayton classic "The Sound of Music". This is particularly evident on the original mix, which also boasts a robotic vocoder/talkbox vocal reminiscent of the 1983 classic, but the influence can also be heard on the drowsy, sunshine-friendly "Guitare Dub" version.
Review: Long Way Home is the first Fred Everything album in a decade, but it has been worth the wait, as the Canadian producer delves into musical territories. "Cinema Paradiso" is underpinned by lush strings and crisp break beats, while "By Day" features the soulful vocals of Sio, accompanied by gentle piano lines. Even the title track focuses on a more electro-funk sound than the typical Fred Everything sty;e - albeit one that is soaked in strings. The pace finally picks up on the electronic disco of "Un Dimanche Apres-Midi" and fans of Fred Everything's deep house style will not be disappointed, with the blissed out vocals and trippy keys of"Wherever You Go" sounding like one of the most soulful tracks of 2018.
By Day (Andre Lodemann & Fabian Dikof remix) - (7:09) 122 BPM
By Day (Fred re-version instrumental) - (5:20) 120 BPM
By Day (Andre Lodemann & Fabian Dikof instrumental) - (7:09) 122 BPM
Review: At the back end of June 2018 Fred Everything will release Long Way Home, his first album for a decade. To get us all in the mood, he's decided to release LP highlight "By Day" as a single. You don't get the full album version of the dreamy, broken soul gem (think Atjazz circa "Harmony"), but rather an on-point radio edit and a swathe of previously unheard reworks. There are vocal and instrumental editions of Everything's own sparkling deep house rework, and similar variations from Andre Lodemann and Fabian Dikoff. Their remixes are superb, wrapping Everything's attractive original chords and melodies - as well as some alien-sounding motifs of their own - around a shuffling, tech-tinged German deep house groove.
Review: Normally at this point we'd go into a rambling spiel about the credentials of the producer involved in this release, but in the case of Fred Everything it hardly seems necessary. After all, the Lazy Days co-founder has been releasing high-grade deep house for decades and his quality threshold rarely dips. "Wherever You Go" sees the French Canadian producer continue his recent fascination with glassy-eyed Balearic-era house, in the process serving up a deliciously warm and colourful tribute to classic Italian dream house. Phillip Lauer handles remix duties, first wrapping the original mix's hazy vocal samples around a wild, acid-fired analogue house groove on the Dos Main mix, before necking something naughty and reaching for the pianos on the slicker and dreamier "Akai Mix".
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