Review: Berlin house and disco producer Till Von Sein looks to the early 80s for inspiration as he serves up a convincing slice of instrumental disco/boogie. 'Barocula' creates a bed of warm bass and frenetic Rodgers-esque guitar chops, which it then tops with a descending plinky-plonk synth hook and a magnificently 80s-sounding mournful sax line, with some space disco stabs for good measure. Larse's remix pumps things up in a more overtly nu-disco style, so whether you go for maximum authenticity or maximum 2020s dancefloor impact is up to you! A set-builder rather than an anthem-in-waiting, perhaps, but still checkable.
Review: Germany's Till Von Sein (Tilly Jam/Dirt Crew/Suol) teams up with fellow Berlin resident Ulrich Harrison - a German-Jamaican vocalist better known as Tender Games - to bring us two classy contemporary boogie/soul jams. 'Let Go' rides muted but hefty 4/4s and a lovely fat, squelchy, 80s-sounding bassline with synthesized strings and a vocal from Harrison that should garner it mucho plays on the soulful house floors. 'You & I', on the other hand, leans more overtly to the boogie side of the equation, and as such is probably one for the more purist soul, funk and disco spots.
Review: The 'Nina Knows' EP finds Till Von Sein in a laidback kinda mood, serving up three tracks that are more about lounging by the poolside than they are about throwing yourself around with wild abandon on the dancefloor. The title track is comprised mostly of a rolling, vaguely African-leaning backbeat and cascading chimes, to which are added African chants, birdsong, whistles and other atmospherics. 'These Days' is a smoother nu-disco chugger with a sumptuous, hazy feel, while 'Catching Rays' nods to synth-pop legends like Paul Hardcastle, Jan Hammer or Jean-Michel Jarre. Order up a large Mojito, lay back and soak it all in!
Review: If you can handle the cold, there's a lot to love about winter, not least crisp mornings, stunning mid-afternoon sunsets and the possibility of snow days. Tilly Jam founder Till Von Sein is clearly a fan, because his latest EP sounds like the perfect soundtrack to crystal clear winter nights and mornings when getting out of bed is a struggle. Particularly potent is "Feels Like Winter", a sparse and seductive slab of gently percussive deep house rich in simmering strings, eyes-closed vocal samples, glacial chords and piano motifs that take the breath away. He continues on a similar theme with "61 State of Mind", a similarly swung affair where hissing cymbal patterns, elongated synthesizer chords and bubbly synth-bass catch the ear.
Review: Storied Spanish producer Hurlee made his first appearance on Tilly Jam earlier in the year with an EP that we described as having a "cocktail hour vibe". The Mallorca-based artist's second salvo on the label is an altogether more up-tempo affair, though the ear pleasing musicality, sunny warmth and inherent cheeriness remains centre stage throughout. He begins in fine fashion with "Breakfast With Eliza", a colourful chunk of tactile disco/deep house fusion laden with melodic positivity and killer bass guitar lines, before joining the dots between boogie, 80s soul and morning-fresh deep house and EP standout "Gimme Some Groove". To round things off, he successfully cuts up a classic underground disco track and re-tools it for house dancefloors ("Dance Together").
Review: Dutch duo Lorenzo Kurizu & T.B.J. Wanders aka T.U.R.F. are up next on Till Von Sein's Berlin-based Tilly Jam imprint, with an EP that screams summer. After releases on Exploited and Tensnake's True Romance, this impressive duo delivers yet more of their dusted down deep house business in impressive fashion. The low slung funk groove of "Bom Dia" follows in the tradition of local heroes Detroit Swindle or Nachtbraker, they follow this up with a jazzy kinda something on the groovy/feel good "Let Yourself Go" and then save the best for last on chopped-up disco joint "Over You" that's sure reminiscent of that classic French Touch vibe.
Review: Three very fine nu-disco slices here from Mallorca's Hurlee, who's previously appeared on Gents & Dandy's, Plastik People, Papa Records and Nurvous, among others. 'Tropicana' itself is up first and has a lounge-y, cocktail hour kinda feel, particularly in the second half where a wonky sax loop takes centre stage. 'Tonite' is similar in style but with a delicately tinkling piano line and looped snatches of sampled, spoken/shouted vocal leading the charge. And then finally there's 'What's Your Problem?', which rolls along at a house tempo and sports 80s boogie vox which, again, are chopped 'n' looped throughout.
Review: It would be fair to say that Till von Sein is something of a daydreamer. His particular brand of warm and sunny deep house has always been rooted in escapism, with the Berlin-based producer delivering melodious cuts that paint mental images of happier times spent dancing al-fresco on beaches and surfing in the moonlight. "Ocean", his first album for nearly four years, continues this theme. For proof, check the decidedly Balearic instrumentation, dreamy pads and bossa-house drums of "Aloha", the sparkling nu-disco bubbliness of "Cruise Control", the '80s yacht rock-goes-house flex of "Junjung", the loved-up bliss of "Level 61" (a kind of 1989 instrumental Pet Shop Boys B-side after several happy pills) and the sublime, sunrise-ready bliss of "Ocean".
Review: Till Von Sein continues to serve up tasty treats on Tilly Jam, the imprint he set up in the autumn of 2017. This time round, there are two tracks to choose from. First up is "Cruise Control", a wonderfully warm and tactile affair where waves of sun-kissed chords, seductive piano motifs and Balearic guitar flourishes gently rise above shuffling, cowbell-driven drums and a rubbery synthesizer bassline. This toasty, sunrise-ready goodness is followed by "Ocean", an impeccable chunk of deep and melodious house music smothered in loved-up pads, lilting melodies and the kind of slick, undulating bassline that should make smiling, saucer-eyed dancers go weak at the knees. In a word: delicious.
Review: Only the fifth outing here from Tilly Jam, the label that German deep house producer Von Sein set up in 2017 after numerous releases on Suol, Dirt Crew Recordings and other labels. It's a two-track affair, and opens with 'Aloha' itself, which is a laidback deep house groove that's bordering on slo-mo Balearic territory and which, as the title suggests, is replete with Hawaiian sounds. The accompanying 'Mission Muizenberg' operates at a more standard deep house tempo, but is still probably one for those longer sets, afternoon sessions and mellow moments, not least thanks to the dreamy, floaty breakdown in the midsection.
Review: By now, we should all know what to expect from Berlin underground royalty Till Von Sein, namely high quality, floor-friendly material that joins the dots between dusty deep house and celebratory disco. It's the latter influence that comes to the fore on this party-hearty EP, with opener "Say Say Say" delivering a driving, funk-fuelled chunk of loopy disco-house built around samples from a lesser-known late '70s cut. In contrast, "Shadrach" is a wonderfully percussive and low-slung slab of sweaty Latin jazz-house, while "Impala" sees him pepper a jaunty, piano-heavy disco-house groove with seriously snaking saxophone lines. Those looking for something altogether dreamier and more loved-up should check closer "Baden Powell Dr", whose fluid piano solos and meandering nu-disco synths help create a particularly saucer-eyed mood.
Review: As you'd expect, Till Von Sein used the first couple of releases on his Tilly Jam label to showcase his own work. Now he's decided to reach out to other like-minded producers, beginning with Frankfurt-based Mohig. He's described in the accompanying label blurb as "an advocate of good vibes only", and there's certainly plenty of positivity to be found on lead cut "Searching For Barong", a wonderfully colourful, sun-kissed and rush-inducing jam rich in wide-eyed vocal samples, layered tropical percussion and sparkling melodies. It's accompanied on the EP by the deeper and woozier - but no less positive - "Tinda Yoga", plus two revisions of "Searching For Barong". First, Black Loops re-cast the track as a chunky, swinging fusion of U.S garage and tropical deep house, before label chief Von Sein offers a smoother, sunnier and even more Balearic interpretation.
Review: Hero of the Berlin underground Till Von Sein serves up the second edition in his new Tilly Jam Series. Expect deep and lo-slung grooves inspired by old school sensibilities and definitely of the deeper spectrum. Beginning with the deep disco joint "Feva" which features a familiar hook that's definitely on the tip of our tongue. Whatever it is - that definitely needed an edit! Sombre yet emotive boogie-down vibes on the neon-lit tip with "Fave" and a sombre, classic Windy City style house jam on "Chronic" which takes it cues Mr Fingers and the Alleviated sound. A regular on local labels such as Suol and Dirt Crew, Von Sein had been relatively quiet on the production front in 2016 but the next year he came back with a vengeance with releases on Moulton Music and few remix contributions for artists such as Keenarf and Melohman & Javi Bora.
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