Review: When Steven Moove drops a release he normally makes sure that it's packed full of his trademark party-orientated jams. Here though he keeps things moving with a crafty stop gap joint, "Return Of The Beats". Anyone who's a fan of vintage Public Enemy will immediately be taken back to the days of funky drummer beats and cut-up soul samples with just one listen to this daisy-age corker. Don't believe the hype kids, well actually in this case, do!
Review: Taken from the album of the same name, "Congo Beat The Drum" has been a labour of love for Kalbata and Mixmonster. Their vision: to create an authentic dub document at a King Tubby level. Recording, and working with, some of Jamaica's most longstanding artists, the result speaks serious volumes. Thundering tribal drum drama is the order of the day while Mackerel tells a fishy tale with raw throaty grit. Kahn's remix flips the entire vibe, adding eerie eastern strings and a rich low end that's so warm it could cook your breakfast. For added measure they've also thrown in a dub mix of "Out A Road". Bubblesome.
Review: Earlier in the year, Isle of Jura boss Kev Griffiths offered up the first fruits of his extensive digging into the Caribbean disco-reggae scene: a new EP containing a couple of dub-infused disco-rap cuts from Norman Watson and Stanley Shaw AKA The Pearls. Here he reissues another of the pair's obscure and in-demand singles, 1980 number 'Groovy Beat'. It's another killer concoction, with Shaw rapping attractively over a hybrid disco-boogie backing track piled high with cowbells, electric piano chords and rubbery bass guitar licks. The latter elements come to the fore on the accompanying 'Dub' mix, while Griffiths stitches together the best of both versions on his attractive and dancefloor-ready Jura Sound System edit.
Review: Tom Lonsborough and Col Hamilton, better known to most as 2 Billion Beats, return to their regular home of Paper Recordings with three tracks of synth-y contemporary disco. 'Down The Docks' has echoes of 80s synth-pop and centres around a fat squelchy bassline that's married to a jaunty, nagging keys riff. 'Empty Boulevard' (the pick for this writer) is a smoother ride that would slide nicely into deep or progressive house sets, while finally 'Beats Of No Nation' is a quirkier cut with multiple competing vocal samples and synths that get more and more acidic as the track progresses.
Review: Dutch producer and Nightbird Musik/Kinky Vinyl boss Sebastian Davison is back with more sexy late night deep house on German institution Peppermint Jam and it's a fitting home really. On Flavour of The Old Skool 2 he starts out with the sultry and rather Dessous/HFN sounding "Questionmark", while the late-night sexiness continues on the sax driven flirtations of "Body Beats" assisted by one super slinky groove. Finally, there's good advice on "Love A Freak", not to mention it bearing many similarities to a certain house music classic by Larry Heard, from that Juno bassline to those FM synth strings; nice one!
We use cookies to personalise content and ads, to provide social media features and to analyse our traffic. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners who may combine it with other information that you've provided to them or that they've collected from your use of their services.