Review: Coming up next from the Soulserious crew, a feisty four track collection from Sunday Roast, exploring the more experimental edges of the garage spectrum with some fiery original flavour. First up, the stripped backed, haunting sub sweeps and gnarly bass tones of 'Blur', which as the title track, kicks off the project with just enough mystery, whilst also packing a bass-heavy punch. This is then followed by the more high-ended percussive runs of 'Lama',a subby sweeper that leads cleanly into the more grizzly sub pulses of 'Scapes'. Finally, some tidy chord work as 'Void' fuses chilling vocals with icy pads and clunking drums for a unique final bounce.
Review: A very interesting release here from Soulserious, a label that usually excels in the UKG and deep house side of the dance as the bossman Sunday Roast unveils his D&B alter-ego 33Reasons. Two cuts deep, it works as a nice introduction to this darker side to the label founder. 'Feel For You' is the prowling growler of the release thanks to its curmudgeonly bassline that grunts and oozes its way over the drums. It's in good company as 'Enjin' brings up the rear with more cold, spacious drums and a series of ghostly harmonics trilling and flickering over the roomy groove. Feels for this.
Review: The Soulserious team have unveiled a real gem with this one as they welcome the lively sounds of Jook10 to the table with a grizzly pair of bubblers, exploring the more experimental reaches of the UK funky sound. We kick off with the EP's title track 'Triple Threat', which deploys a gnarly array of sliding synthesizer melodies and choppy drum textures to really launch the EP in style, giving us some serious dancefloor ammunition. On the flip, 'Toppa' provides a much more wobbly display of minimal drum arrangement and spicy lead synths. Both tracks definitely fall back on some of UK funky's most central themes, with each of them exploring the sound via their own unique avenues.
Review: Soulserious' regular Assado has yet to receive plenty of plaudits, despite a quietly varied and assured discography that draws great influence from various vintage house, garage and techno productions. Perhaps this EP, Assado's first of 2022, will provide a deserved breakthrough. After beginning with the ultra-deep, fluid and tribal-tinged title track - a heady slice of early morning hypnotism that's as melodically warming as it is trippy - the publicity-shy artist shuffles between sub-heavy late-night darkness ('Haus'), Tenaglia-inspired tribalism ('Revive'), sunrise-ready dreaminess ('Seb') and tech-house-tinged workouts that reminded us a little of Mr Raoul K's 21st century brand of African house ('Sunkist').
Review: If you're on the lookout for warm, classic-sounding deep house that takes cues from vintage New York, New Jersey and Chicago productions, Louie John's releases on Soulserious are always worth a listen. His latest release, an expansive five track affair, is naturally up to his usual pleasingly high standards. It begins with a shuffling slab of drowsy, sub-rich late-night brilliance (the classic Chez Damier style excellence of 'Don't Worry') and ends with the soulful, subtly disco-tinged (and surprisingly electronic-sounding) 'Vibrations'; in between you'll find the bumpin' brilliance of 'Time Will Tell', where his knack of programming deliciously loose-limbed drums comes to the fore, the organ-sporting bounce of 'Save You' and the rising, garage-tinged peak-time rush of 'Really Fine'.
Review: As he has done for the last few years, Louie John continues to explore nostalgic house sounds on his latest EP for Soulserious. He doffs a cap to classic New York and New Jersey sounds on the chunky, swirling and ear-pleasing deep house of rolling opener 'Run Free', before reaching for bubbly sub-bass, glassy-eyed vocal samples and hazy piano riffs on 'Flight'. John opts for heavier house beats, bolder bass, sweatier vocal snippets and Chez Damier style motifs on 'In My Heart', while superb closing cut 'Touch on You' is an ultra-deep, dubby affair tailor-made for late afternoons and early mornings. As usual with John, all four tracks are exquisitely produced and should slip right in to a variety of house sets.
Review: When we look around the now incredibly expansive realms of UK funky and garage, consistency has been the thing that has really allowed it to return to prosperity. Sunday Roast is an artist who oozes consistency, with this 'Classics V1' project being the perfect way to showcase that. Across sixteen sizzling originals, we are able to examine and explore the full breadth of his production style, from the groovy, UK funky influenced rhythms of 'Conga Matic' and 'Roll On' to the more bassline-driven designs of 'Groove Yard' and UKG flutters of 'Power'. It's a pretty solid selection to say the least, with our immediate highlights including the delicate drum processing of 'Echoes', the high energy percussion of 'Night Fox' and the experimental synthesis of the previously unreleased 'E Numbers'. Tidy!
Review: The mysterious Assado returns to Reading label Soul Serious with a four-track EP that blends deep, tech and tribal influences and will suit those jocks for whom the drum, as Carmel once sang, is everything. 'Afa' is a percussion-heavy affair that sports a looped "I can't, I can't, I can't stop" female vocal, 'Hologram' is a chunky, tribal-infused techy roller, 'Do Want' - the standout for this reviewer - has elements of both classic soulful house/garage and late 90s NYC tribal, while more Afro-style percussion underpins 'Ziya', a more eyes-down cut that's tailor-made for small-hours excursions into the deep zone.
Review: Reading-based label Soulserious are back with the ever elusive Louie John, who serves up some sensual and sublime deep house on the Agenda EP. From the icy and dub infused tech of "Cortee" sounding like a cross between Booka Shade and Echonomist, there's the respectful nod to UK 2-step on the infectious title track, to the classic deep house of "Jazz Top" with its creamy keys amd swung beats, and ending with the emotive mood music of "Mind Free" - this is another impressive outing yet again by the Soulserious staple.
Review: Usually, when a new Soulserious drop pops up in the store we are likely to be in for a good time. They definitely don't disappoint this time around as Far From Perfect unleashes five experimental 4x4 creations for us all to enjoy. We begin with the unpredictable percussive fluctuations of the title track 'Lost Everything' before the techno-inspired drum work of 'Keep Tabs' alongside the growling bass stretches and eastern designs of 'Indie 333' follow up in quick succession. From here, 'Downfall' gives us a moody look into modern 4x4 with some sweeping atmospheric brilliance, finishing up with the super minimal rhythms of 'Decendo' for good measure.
Review: We welcome the return of Berkshire-based Soulserious, who present a new release by Assado, who serves up some sweltering summer time vibes on the Brazian EP. From the dark carnival feel of the title track and its exotic polyrhythms, to the latin minimal tech house flavour of "Pulse" to the seething U.K. bass influence of "Migrate" and ending with the atmospheric mood(y) music of "Ethics". Wicked grooves from this enigmatic producer that we hope to discover more of this year.
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