Review: London lad and Local Talk regular Wipe The Needle AKA Lee Gomez's output has spanned a range of styles, from house to D&B to broken beat. He's operating firmly in the latter arena on this new EP for Bristol/Rotterdam-based Boogie Cafe, with 'Hornsey Rise' itself a steppy, shufflin' jazz outing (and the pick for yours truly) and 'Just To Say' a wonky-beated soul jam that's available with our without Ed Ramsey's vocal. We then take a left turn into laidback hip-hop pastures with 'Peace & Love' featuring Stan Smith, which again is served up with a matching but rap-free instrumental.
Review: Released almost a year ago, Wipe The Needle 'Looking Glass' is a gorgeously jazzy deep house gem rich in mazy vibraphone solos, jazz-funk bass, languid electric piano solos, bouncy Afro-house style beats and effortlessly soulful vocals courtesy of Andre Esput. Now the track has been given the remix treatment, with Good Vibrations Music main man (and hugely talented producer) Sean McCabe at the controls. The Bristol-based artist offers extended, edited and instrumental versions of his main remix, a bouncy, dreamy and tactile affair that adds layers of jazz-funk synths and a fine new bassline. We're also treated to a marginally heavier, organ-sporting 'Gratitude Dub' that smartly looks up a small section of Esput's vocal and runs with it. A fine example of making an already excellent track even better!
Review: Londoner Wipe The Needle (real name Lee Gomez) has previously proved adept at blurring the boundaries between soulful house, broken beat and jazz-funk, an undeniably attractive hybrid sound in keeping with the recent bruk revival. In its' original mix form (track two), 'On Time', his first outing for Z Records, is a brilliant slub of bruk-up boogie-funk smothered in spring-friendly soul - think woozy synths, crunchy broken beats, aqua-funk bass, twinkling jazz pianos and sublime lead vocals from Tornoto's Sacha Williamson. There's a vocal free dub of that take tagged onto the end of the EP, plus two '4x4' house versions: a stunning, EP-opening full vocal version that's simply gorgeous, and a killer, slightly stripped back 'dubstrumental' mix that pushes the killer bassline to the fore.
Review: Midnight Riot's latest re-edit/rework outing is an all-star affair, with a variety of cheeky scamps delivering a track each. Dot 40 manage to turn in a genuinely revelatory version of a classic in "I Believe", which impressively chops and loops a Jackson Sisters' classic before unleashing the song's party-starting powers as it progresses. GG re-invents a Modern Romance classic as a spiraling, Latin nu-disco throbber, while A Digital Needle make merry with another familiar disco-soul classic, impressively teasing out the vocal and instrumental solos. Best of all, though, is Fatneck's "Circulate", which subtly breathes new life into a White Isle-friendly blue-eyed soul classic.
Review: Lee Gomez started producing jungle in the early '90s, but a chance meeting at a recording studio in 2005 was the birthplace of Wipe The Needle. With Mikael Nybom, they released on Slip'n'Slide, Deeply Rooted House and Raw Fusion but since 2013 it has been a solo endeavour by Gomez. He returns to Local Talk, taking up where he left off on the last release with more UK broken beat vibes on "Round Of Applause" featuring Aleysha Lei, which is backed by some off-kilter nu-jazz as heard on "Jack The Nitty" and the late night bounce of "Event Horizon".
Review: Some three years on from his last outing on Groove Odyssey - a fine hook-up with veteran vocalist Michelle Weeks - Wipe The Needle man Lee Gomez returns to action. This time round, it's the effortlessly soulful vocals of Alex Lattimore that catch the ear. On the original version of "Enchanted", Lattimore's slick, laidback vocals offer a perfect foil for Gomez's bossa-tinged gentle Latin house beats, fluid pianos, rich bass and sumptuous chords. Gomez successfully ups the tempo on the sparkling, Vibraphone-laden swirl of the "North London Dub", while the producer has also included Instrumental and Acapella versions to appease DJs who like to get creative in the mix.
Review: Fresh from delivering some jazz-funk influenced soulful house and broken beat flavours on Z Records, Lee Gomez AKA Wipe The Needle returns to Local Talk, a label he's been loosely associated with since 2019. The experienced producer immediately hits his stride with 'It's My World Ya Heard', a loose-limbed chunk of woozy deep house marked out by swinging beats, jazzy synth-bass and classic-sounding synthesizer chords. 'Would You' is a jaunty, soul-fired slab of samba-house loveliness smothered in futuristic jazz-funk synth sounds, while 'Fist of the North Star' is a sparkling, kaleidoscopic slab of heavily electronic broken beat/jazz-funk fusion full of subtle nods towards Motor City music and the hybrid works of Dego and Kaidi Tatham.
Review: What a cool collection we have on our hands here as Wipe The Needle arrives for a spicy two track design, exploring the more complex side of electronica with a seriously cool original by the name of 'Needle Boogie'. Alongside the additional sounds of Himal, this one takes us on a glitchy adventure through wonky bass pulses and unexpected glitchy rhythmic interludes, delivering a very surprising arrangement that becomes more and more intoxicating with every listen. There is also an instrumental version included for good measure, giving us a further chance to explore just how crazy this arrangement is.
Review: Funk upstart, bootleg bandit and general musical mischief maker Jimi Needles steps over to the 170 side with two whirlwind bubblers on Jungle Strikes. The skank-savvy "When I Pull Up" takes a Cornell Campbell-sample and builds a really warm and juicy reggae groove around it. For a spacier, laser-licking experience jump straight on "Bounce With Me". A sharper stepper with waspy bass and trembling classic rave arpeggios there's just enough space for some instantly distinctive vocals. La di da di... Do YOU like to party?
Review: A turntablist with a vision, Londoner Jimi Needles has taken his sound to the next level with volume two of the Jungle Strikes series, created to give chaps like him a boost into the big time. "Lemon Meringue" is as sweet as you like, but nowhere near as lightweight as the name suggest. Vintage samples bring a lovely, crackly warmth to proceedings as jumpy beats get things stepping. "Let The Ragga Drop" enlists the help of a classic Clash sample before descending into bass-driven madness.
Review: Big stuff! Ol' Needles Jungle Strikes it lucky once again with two rip-roaring D&B edits that are guaranteed to slay any floor you're faced with this summer and beyond. "It's So Damn Funky" asks you to look deep down in your soul and ask yourself exactly who you are while "Hands In The Air" takes some badman lyrics and chases those demons away over a hot Cuban riddim. Absolute fire.
Review: Uptown funking fatness on a donut dunking scale, ever-sharp Jimi lays down another sweet session for Jungle Strikes. "No Roller" flexes a big string sample that's reminiscent of High Society era High Contrast and really opens out to its soul source on the breakdown. Total feel good vibes. "How We Chill" has a more mischievous take on soul as it works a chill bar from 93 over a sprightly neon synth funk groove and occasional amen splashes. To infinity and beyond.
Review: Jungle Strikes strike again! Jimi Needles is at the wheel and, like his namesake in Back To The Future, he's revving up the sample engine and calling us all massive chickens if we don't join him. With sounds as funky as these we'd be mad not to. "Stay" takes a big dollop of Al Green and Lord Tariq and Peter Gunz and brings them together with dusty soul mischief while "Jamrockin'" takes Tom Brown and Brigadier Jerry and splices their DNA to make D&B. On point... As always with both Jungle Strikes and Jimi Needles.
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