Review: Self-proclaimed House Gangster DJ Sneak has helped shape the course of dance music since the early 90s; his early music influencing the likes of Daft Punk, Basement Jaxx and Armand Van Helden. He brings his sound to Javi Bora's imprint Too Many Rules with the excellent Rising EP. His signature sounds - funky filtered disco-influenced house and tough, jacking beats are all present on this killer EP. From the hypnotic tribal funk of "Rising", hear the drummer get wicked on the funky breakbeat loops of "Keep On" and label boss himself Javi Bora even steps in for a killer remix: bangin' tough rolling tech house action for the main room.
Review: The Chi-town legend that is DJ Sneak brings us two contrasting cuts. 'Stars' itself is a techy, jackin' affair centred around an indecipherable female vocal snip that loops for much of the track's duration, underpinned by no-nonsense chugging beats and some off-kilter organ parps. 'Stayin' High', on the other hand, is a deeper, more musical ride infused with a little Latin flava and topped with snatches of soulful male vocal. So our advice is to go for 'Stayin' High' if you're just warming the floor up, or 'Stars' if they're already bouncing away nicely and you wanna keep 'em there!
Review: 2019 was a very successful year for Javi Bora's Too Many Rules imprint, so it makes sense that he would want to celebrate it with an expansive label sampler. There's naturally much to admire across the 25-track set, with Bora wisely choosing only the most impactful peak-time house jams and rugged remixes (see Chus & Ceballos's throbbing revision of Huxley & Bora's "You're Everything" and the vintage Junior Vasquez flex of Groove Armada's revision of Bora's "Smashing Up"). There's more than enough variety to stave off accusations that the label sticks to one groove, though it should be said that a number of the collection's many standout moments sit somewhere between funk-fuelled disco-house, DJ Sneak style "boompty" and good old-fashioned chunky house (for proof, check Junior Sanchez's ace "Hard To Resist").
