Review: There's been enough variety and musical detail across Prequel's EPs for Local Talk, Distant Hawaii and Rhythm Section International to suggest that the Aussie artist would be capable of delivering a devastatingly good album or two. Love Or (I Heard You Like Outbreak), his first attempt at a full-length excursion, largely delivers on that promise, delivering an attractive blend of dusty samples, dreamy instrumentation, immaculate beat programming (think hip-hop, deep house, Latin beats, bruk, dancefloor jazz and low-slung disco-funk) and plenty of vivid aural colour. It's a winning combination, with highlights including the peak-time disco-jazz of 'I Tried To Tell Him', the ultra-deep jazz-house epic 'And That's The Story of Their Love', the Latin-bruk haziness of 'Love Is' and the thickset jazz-meets-dancefloor hip-hop flex of 'I'll Never Stop Loving You'.
Review: Hands down the biggest compilation of trance music to hit 2021 so far is this epic rundown by Armada. Literally 100-tracks large, the compilation delivers extended versions of tracks by much loved trance royalty in Armin Van Buuren and Above & Beyond to intriguing collaborations between Paul van Dyke & Sue McLaren, Ferry Corsten & Trance Wax (tip!) or Tinlicker & Robert Miles (classic!). Dig deeper still and you'll find diamonds from Chicane, Elysian, Maarten De Jong and the undeniable Ilan Bluestone. Buy one, by them all!
Review: Despite the setbacks brought forth by the pandemic, we're confident that Toolroom will still have a stellar year as always! With that in mind, the fifth edition in their 'House Party' series' looks to be the biggest yet, with a whopping 70 tracks to keep the party going for days on end. As a bonus, label signees such as Wankelmut, TCTS and Siege (who appear with contributions to the compilation personally) provide a continuous mix each - bringing the party to your house. Other highlights come from a wide variety of artists within the tech/house spectrum such as: legends Technasia and Green Velvet with the aforementioned Siege on the mighty "Suga" (Siege extended mix), the ascendant Luxembourger Amii Watson with the sensual mood music of "Higher" and the Fuse London affiliated Rich NxT teaming up with minimal techno vetran Christian Burkhardt on the slinky and hypnotic "Basics" - plus many more.
Doctor Spook, Dubstep Spook & DJ Acid Hard House - "Deep House & Tech-House Top 100 Best Selling Chart Hits V3" (2hr continuous DJ mix) - (2:03:22) 127 BPM
SaseK - "Slow & Sexy" - (7:10) 120 BPM
Ad. Mark & Tolis Q - "I'll Get You" - (8:23) 125 BPM
Doctor P.H & Dim Day - "Disco-Tech" - (7:43) 125 BPM
DJ Kung Pow & Pale Kidz - "Feed My Puppy" - (4:12) 125 BPM
DJ MRAD - "Boston In The Party" (Electro House mix) - (4:33) 128 BPM
