Night People NYC is a label that’s been raising roofs in the Big Apple since 2014 with its sleek deep house and disco selections, rich with melody, funk and soul. Led by one of New York’s favourite house and disco evangelists Eli Escobar, Night People has spun out countless releases from Escobar himself, as well as originals and remixes from: Purple Disco Machine, Ricardo Baez, The Carry Nation and IPF.
Review: While Eli Escobar is a master at mixing up his output, his strongest releases tend to be those aimed fairly and squarely at peak-time dancefloors. He's on that tip here, first drawing inspiration from jacking Chicago house, old Dance Mania ghetto-house releases and far-sighted electro on 'Phreek' (where Amanda Blank's lead vocal catches the ear), before opting for a sweat-soaked warehouse party flex on early morning treat 'Touch, Want, Feel'. We're then treated to two takes on Steven Klavier hook-up 'Deep Down Inside': the dreamy, tactile and soulful nu-disco-meets-Balearic house flex of the full vocal original mix, and the synth sax-sporting Dub Mix. 'Body Free', a bleep-sporting NYC techno throb-job, completes a fine EP.
Review: Over the last couple of years, Eli Escobar has released all manner of musical treats, from instrumental hip-hop beat tapes to albums full of analogue rich, melody-driven synth jams. As fine as these surprise excursions were, it's his fully dancefloor-focused material that really gets the pulse racing. 'Still Searchin', his first EP of 2023, is full of proper peak-time material, from the jacking and deep dancefloor electro-funk of 'Do It Now' - crunchy and squelchy in equal measure - and the breathless, punk-funk-goes-deep house hustle of 'Slinky', to the classic NYC deep house flex of 'I Miss Someone' and the jacking-but-ghostly peak-time wonkiness of 'Grab N Go'.
Review: Last autumn, Eli Escobar delivered a swathe of rather good single-track salvos. It's these that have been gathered together on Night Class, a five-track mini-album that showcases the increasing musical diversity of his dancefloor-focused sound. That much is proved by the first two tracks, where the bold, beautiful, vintage-sounding synths and throbbing bottom-end of 'Blue Magic' is followed by the glassy-eyed, nu disco-tinged piano house bliss of 'Give Love'. Escobar's increasing use of late 1970s and early '80s synth sounds continues on 'Night Class', while 'This Is Not Going To Be An Ambient Track' sits somewhere between revivalist Chicago jack and slow-burn deep house warmth. As for closing cut 'What You Said', it's pleasingly crunchy, foreboding and sweaty.
Review: Manhattan veteran Eli Escobar can usually be relied upon to deliver the goods, so we were naturally not that surprised to find that his latest single once again hits the spot. Lead cut "Body Muzik" sees him pay tribute to the electronic body music era of the 1980s, New York style. That means a thrusting, mind-altering mixture of Nitzer Ebb style bass, sweaty beats, spiralling electronic noises and short stabs that sound like they were inspired by NYC freestyle. "Tonight (Club Mix)" takes a different approach, with Escobar mixing up jazzy breaks, stomping house beats, jacking drum machine fills, restless New Jersey organ riffs, crystalline chords and savagely cut-up old school vocal samples. It's as ear-pleasing as it is effective.
Review: Keeping it simple is the name of the game on this latest from New York house wunderkind Escobar. It's a single-track affair, for starters - so none of those pesky remixes to worry about - while the track itself is a looping affair centred around a female "the rhythm, addicted to the rhythm" vocal that plays almost constantly, underpinned by a nagging synth riff that nods to classic-style Detroit techno. Various other vocal snips and ever-shifting drum patterns help to maintain the interest, but this is nevertheless an eyes-down, locked-in-the-groove kinda cut built to keep warmed-up floors moving through those peaktime hours.
Review: As Eli Escobar let's it be known in "The Formula" that he's 'got something for you' as the sweet chorale chimes. There's a subtle Osunlade vibe to this album, the American's first, and Rhodes be flaying on "Visions" as they vamp to a climax like a Bootsy Collins solo. It's all stripped back business of "NY So Hi" - get down to this! And for some quality, sustained loops check out "Thank You Les". "Up All Night" is a dubbed-out, cool-as, disco-tinged burner and there's a whole load to discover here in a debut album rich with the type of soul you can only get from the streets of the big apple.
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