Review: Black Barrel's been a busy boi! Currently flexing on Dispatch and Headz, not to mention his hyperactive Leo Cap dubstep alias, this man's a machine and has been for some years now. The best thing is that the quality is always consistent. Four more cases in point: the hurricane soul and eerie emotion of 'Side That You Can't Hide', the rattling airy drums and subtle rave references of 'Love Line', the deep smouldering soul of 'New Era' and the timeless Soul:r style finale 'One Day'. There's no hiding from vibes like these.
Review: After previous releases on such acclaimed disco labels as Spa In Disco, Rare Wiri, Midnight Riot, Paper Disco and Audaz, Leeds native Andy Buchan (alongside partner-in-crime Conan The Selector) set up his own Hot Gorilla imprint earlier this year. This sixth EP from the label sees him providing two very authentically late 70s-sounding gems, with 'Your Love' a hazy, lazy affair that sports a sensual, breathy female vocal and some understated house-y pianos, while 'Can't Hide' is a more funk-oriented, Latin-tinged near-instrumental cut whose sampled female vocal is buried deep in the mix.
Review: Mousse T's perennially popular German house label are containing their current compilation release frenzy with this new installment in the series that explores the deeper end of their tastes. Or, to be more specific, the tastes of Deepwerk who selects the album's pleasingly diverse tracklist. It's quite a journey, taking in stoned jazz-hop "Cosmic Surfin", the sublime deep house synth-fest of "Burn Baby Burn", soulful G-Funk (Warren G's "I Need A Light") and even Roachford, who returns from Alan Partridge-aided exile with "Work It Out".
Review: To date, publicity shy, mask-wearing producer Hyenah has released a string of inspired EPs for the likes of Watergate, Freerange Records and Rise Music. Here he returns to the latter label with his most significant release yet: a long-awaited debut album made in cahoots with a long list of guest musicians and producers. After teasing us in gently with the pitched down, hypnotic wonder that is 'The Rite' (featuring beautiful vocals from Ernesto and the Basement Gospel), Hyenah sprints between heavily electronic Afro-house, 21st century kwaito/electro fusion, percussion-heavy tech-house, future jazz, glitchy late-night micro-house, soul-fired sunset house brilliance and much more besides. As debut albums go, it's a doozy.
Review: Armada Music 20 Years Classics pays homage to dance music's rich history and aims to educate a new generation of fans about the artists who shaped the genre. There's classics galore on this one as you'd expect, with several bangers by label chief Armin Van Burren, in addition to seminal anthems such as Joe Smooth's "Promised Land", Inner City's "Good Life" (remastered), Chez Damier's "Can You Feel It" (New York extended dub) and Olav Basoski's "Waterman" (extended mix), as well as appearances by newer artists like ANOTR, Patrick Topping and Jan Blomquist.
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