Dance music's most storied spiritual house specialist - only Joaquin 'Joe' Clausell comes close - has traditionally been quite prolific, but for one reason or another his output has tailed off a little in recent years. In fact, this return to R2 Records is the St Louis-based producer's first new solo EP in two years. He begins in forthright mood on 'Sistagurl', a sleazy, tough and bass-heavy slab of dirt-encrusted peak-time heaviness, before switching to deeper, warmer and dreamier deep house pastures on the typically heady and intoxicating 'The Journey'. Osunlade's love of percussion, mind-altering synths and Afro-tinged house rhythms comes to the fore on 'Prism', while 'Pimps (Let This One Ride)' is an acid-flecked shuffler and 'The Way You Left Me' is a hazy, hypnotic and quietly soulful treat.
Last year, Demi Riquismo decided to mark five years of his Semi Delicious label by delivering an EP containing tracks he'd recorded, but never released, during the imprint's first year. To celebrate reaching six years, he's put together an expansive and essential collection of some of the imprint's previously vinyl-only gems. Naturally, the quality threshold remains high from start to finish, with our picks of a very strong bunch including the organ-rich, revivalist garage shuffle of Jive Talk's 'UK Gary', the big room-friendly hedonism of Aldonna's trippy 'Inner Elation', the disco-tinged tactility of Kassian's 'Midnight District Line' and Demi Riquisito's own colourful and nostalgic 'Rocking You Internally' standing out. That said, Baby Rollen's 'Deep Asleep' - a loose-limbed exploration of Larry Heard flavours and undulating acid lines - may well be the best of the bunch.
Boogie Down Edits returns with another inspired collection, reshaping classics from De La Soul's 3 Feet High and Rising into dancefloor-ready gems. This third instalment reimagines familiar lyrics and grooves, crafting house-driven versions while maintaining the playful energy of the originals. 'Ring Ring Ring (Flutestramental)' transforms the track into a lively, flute-infused house cut with an infectious, funky swing. 'Magic Number' appears in two forms, including a club-focused version that injects extra bounce. 'Plug' also gets dual treatments--Version 1 leans into a tribal-house direction, while Version 2 offers a hip-hop-inspired rework, each with a distinct instrumental variation. Another standout, 'Hippy House', reshapes 'Me, Myself and I' with two edits, weaving its iconic vocals into rhythmically rich house productions. Balancing nostalgia with fresh club energy, this release brings De La Soul's spirit into a whole new space, making it an essential pick for DJs and fans alike.
Pigeonholing the work of ANOTR has proven to be quite tricky of late, with the pair drawing on a myriad of interconnected influences whilst remaining wedded to insatiable grooves, expansive musical arrangements and lashings of mood-enhancing soul. They're genuinely at their boundary-blurring best on 'On A Trip', the Amsterdam duo's third full-length excursion to date and in our opinion their most expansive exploration of their ever-expanding musical world. After blurring the boundaries between house, 21st century jazz-funk and sun-kissed sounds on opener 'Unlock', the pair variously off N.E.R.D-influenced excellence ('Care For You'), Freeform Five style disco-house fusion ('Currency'), joyous Afro-house (the Highlife-tinged 'Feeling Feels Like Flying'),head-nodding downtempo beats ('Bad Trip'), jazzy and soulful deep house ('24 (Turn It Up)'), yacht rock ('Livin' In a Dream') and chunkier peak-time fare ('6am').
Three fine house cuts here from Huxley, surely one of the most reliable producers in the modern game. 'Monie' is an understated affair, a long percussion-and-vox intro leading us into a deep bass/organ groove that's then topped with 90s house pianos. 'Obsessed' too reveals a love of classic 90s house sounds with its dense, shuffling drums and spoken vocal sample, while finally 'Rhythm' closes out the EP with fast, driving percussion, a looped female vocal snippet incessantly intoning the title and a slinky, sinuous bassline. All three tracks are low on hummability, perhaps, but long on danceability - just like proper house should be!
Damian Lazarus unfurls the latest edition of Crosstown Rebels 'SPIRITS' compilation series, once again serving up a varied and interesting collection of cuts from a blend of rising stars and established producers. In the latter camp you'll find UK scene stalwart Dino Lenny, who impresses with the driving, ever-building dub disco darkness of 'I Have Sampled Father', and the surprise hook up between Timo Maas and Inamo on the deep, shuffling and creepy tech-house headiness of 'le Tourbillion'. Some of the finest material is provided by the lesser-celebrated artists involved, with Share's deliciously bass-heavy and percussive 'Oh Please (feat Def Ef)', John Monkman's atmospheric 'Colours' anad Enamour's warming and gently dreamy 'Jackpot' standing out.
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