Review: The Brighton based 'Jalapeno' imprint has been the life and soul of the party for the last few years now, with recent releases continuing to impress, injecting some serious soul into the south coast. This time around they bring forward The Allergies for a vibrant two track EP, kicking off with 'Can't Keep Working This Hard'. As a composition, it's funk-o-meter is unrivalled, pulling in deliciously crunchy grooves with some top draw vocal work. On the flip, Andy Cooper joins the jamboree with some smooth rap vocals layered over the rawcus composition of 'Run It Back', bringing together top draw basslines and classic drum design
Review: This is the third album in as many years from the Bristolian hip-hop/funk duo, who are also festival favourites, so there's a good chance you already have a pretty good idea what they sound like. For the uninitiated, then old school block-party hip-hop would be one obvious point of reference, Stereo MCs another - but The Allergies throw far more than just rap into the pot, with soul, funk, jazz, R&B, breakbeat and rock elements weaving in and out of Steal The Show's 13 tracks. Guests on the album include Andy Cooper, Izo FitzRoy, Skunkadelic, ASM, Uncle Frank and Dr Syntax.
Review: Like the proverbial rolling stone, Jalapeno Records just keeps on going. The continued quality of the long-serving British label's releases is confirmed by this tenth edition of their digital-only "Jalapeno Funk" compilation series. There's naturally plenty of party-hearty peak-time fare to be found throughout, with highlights coming quick and fast. These include Supasoul's sun-bright rework of Funkysoul's trumpet-laden "The Inside Man", the leisurely breaks, Hammond solos and rich guitars of Dr Rubberfunk's "Pressure Cooker", the bustling funk/hip-hop fusion of Smoove's revision of the Allergies' "Run It Back" and the synth-bass propelled goodness of Basement Freaks' "Bring It back (feat Kamy)". It is, though, all pretty damn hot.
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.
Review: Defected's ongoing House Masters series should be essential listening for anyone keen to discover more about the recording careers of some of the scene's most iconic producers. Certainly, this latest installment, chronicling NYC legend Todd Terry's finest moments, contains far more hits than misses. At 35 tracks deep, it's a bit of a beast, but features not only all of his best-known productions ("Weekend", "Can You Party", "I'll House You", "Bango (To The Batmobile)", his remix of Everything But The Girl's "Missing"), but also a swathe of lesser-known remixes (A slammin' version of Bizarre Inc's "I'm Gonna Get You"), Dubs (a brilliantly stripped-back version of Hardrive's "Voices Inside My House") and original productions (the hip-house era madness of Black Riot's "Warlock").
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