Review: .5 Borough Breaks are back with another essential slice of 90s hip-hop nostalgia. Their latest 7" revives a 1995 Hot 97 favourite-a gritty, golden-era banger that once ruled the NYC airwaves. Handily pressed for both DJs and collectors, Blahzay Blahzay's 'Danger' captures the raw energy of East Coast rap at its peak. As always with this label, the flip side features the original sample source: a soulful gem 'Rockin Chair' from recently departed legend Gwen McCrae whose legacy shaped generations of soul fans and hip-hop heads. As such, this 7" combines deep digging with authentic hip-hop flair and pays tribute to both the beatmakers and the soul pioneers who inspired them. Essential wax.
Gilles's Peterson's Havana Cultura Band - "The Rumba Experiement" (Motor City Drum Ensemble remix) (6:35)
Review: New York legend and Body & Soul man Joe Claussell is first to land on this new Brownswood Remix Edition as he drops a Sacred Rhythm mix of his own tune with Cuban singer Dayme Arocena. It offers a fresh perspective on the original timeless composition with drawn-out drums leading to a signature spiritual rapture. On the flip is a dynamic reinterpretation of Gilles Peterson's Havana Cultura Band by German artist Motor City Drum Ensemble, who now goes under his birth name. He brings some dusty house drums to make for a perfectly flavoursome sound for outdoor dancing.
Review: After a remarkable project launch last year - the red ribbon cutter DJ Friction Presents Ground Control for Sedsoul - the d&b uberlord DJ Friction now lifts the lid on his new and very different label Soulsonic, with the aid of soul companions Soulkitchen, cracking the safe with a vibrant 7" single ahead of his second full-length. 'Step Into The Light' is a vimmy slice of funk-disco, with powerhouse vocals from David Whitley on the A, whose body-power could only manifest in counterpart to a stripped back B on the flip. The track's gospel inflections recall the electrified optimism of early 80s dance music, thought it also grafts on robo handclaps and tight modern production.
Review: London label ENDZ marks its 60th edition with Scottish producer Gaskin at the helm, a man who's been steadily making his mark with a knack for raw, no-nonsense club cuts. This is peak-time energy - the opener 'Inspired Eyes' moves like a coiled spring, tight percussion snapping against a rolling low-end that feels primed for sweaty basements and strobe-lit corners. 'No Limits' ups the ante, all rugged bass pressure and crisp two-step momentum, while 'Across The Globe' takes a wider, more dynamic swing, fusing its punchy grooves with restless movement. ENDZ has always been about stripped-back, high-impact club music, and this latest entry is no exceptionia sharp, unfussy dose of dancefloor damage.
A Boy Called Zeal (Gari Romalis Electronix Stop N Search mix) (7:25)
A Boy Called Zeal (Audio Werner mix) (9:07)
Review: What began as a beloved underground party two decades ago now steps into a new chapter as Rock Tha House Traxx, a vinyl-only label helmed by veteran Chilean selector Camilo Gil and Mario Flores in Mexico City. Shifting from the dancefloor to the turntable, the label sets out to document and reimagine the musical movements that shaped its roots. After a hothousing debut featuring Romania's Mihai Popoviciu and Swiss mainstay Quenum among others, we've a new sonic tort from the label's very own Gil, solidifying the Western SA nation's place in said conversation. Squeezy reso-basses, stupid-hard breaks, zany lifters: Gil has us covered.
Girls Of The Internet - "Someone Somewhere" (6:35)
James Alexander Bright & Girls Of The Internet - "Where Is Your Love" (6:54)
Review: Hot since day, Girls Of The Internet have widened the eyes and perked the ears of many a squabbling listener since 2017, deploying many a nu-disco nutcracker through imprints such as Drab Queen and Palm Recs. The duo now stop by Athens Of The North, surveying a wide polar acropolis of deep repetition and strung sampledelia. 'Somewhere Someone' delivers peak energies crafted about a mystery sample, while the flipper, 'Where Is Your Love', hears a roomy linkup with James Alexander Bright, straining the A's comparatively full, gluey mien into a much stringier slice of vocal disco minimalism.
Review: Few tracks capture the icy allure of early 80s electronic experimentation quite like this underground classic. Originally released in 1981, this Swiss post-punk/coldwave classic has transcended its era, becoming a cult favorite across underground scenes and DJ sets of various genres. Now reissued on limited blue vinyl, its influence remains undeniable. 'Eisbaer' is a track that bridges stark, minimalist electronics with the raw energy of post-punk. The hypnotic bassline and cold, robotic drum programming lay a foundation for jagged guitar stabs and eerie synth flourishes, creating an urgent, mechanical pulse. The disaffected, almost mantra-like vocalsideclaring "Ich mochte ein Eisbar sein" ("I want to be a polar bear")iheighten its existential detachment. Echoes of Throbbing Gristle's industrial edge and Cabaret Voltaire's abstract electronics blend seamlessly with the emerging synth-pop movement, helping to push new wave into more danceable, electronic territory. Side B's 'Film 2' takes a more abrasive approach, a pounding, near-industrial instrumental that pulses with motorik intensity. 'Ich Lieb Sie' is more restrained but equally unsettling, its sparse arrangement and ghostly atmosphere reinforcing Grauzone's unique ability to evoke emotion through minimalism. Timeless and still chillingly modern, this reissue ensures that Eisbar and its B-sides continue to inspire. A crucial document of coldwave's evolution, reaffirming why this track remains a DJ favourite decades later.
Review: James 'Burnski' Burnham already runs about 7398 labels but recently kicked off another, Gravitate. The mission is simple - to put out club-ready cuts that have plenty of character. All of these come under the same name as the label and artist which indicates how much it is a label all about the music. The first one has a JayDee-style dark bassline, the second one brings old school house rawness that brings to mind the MAW sound and the third one is a more roomy cut with space for the synths to encourage a bit of introspection. The closer is the best of the lot, a silky deep house groove with real drive and trippy synth details.
Review: No, this is not a long-lost jam from popular British songsmith David Gray, but a sought-after underground Italo-disco anthem from 1987 fronted by an uncredited Italian singer and produced by a duo called Scarface. In typical Thank You/Sound Metaphors style, this fine reissue boasts all three versions from the original 12": the glossy, synth-pop 'extended mix', a vocal-free instrumental, and the 'special mix'/DJ friendly dub mix style 'extended instrumental' - a version that sounds like a tweaked and extended backing track to a Shep Pettibone produced Pet Shop Boys album track from 1986. We also get a fresh, effects-laden 'Bonus Dubeats' take from label affiliate Castro which is arguably the best of a strong bunch.
Review: Focused on artists from the great anatine peninsula that is South America, Mirror Vinyl Series reflects the techno-house multi-talents of many an artist from Argentina to Bolivia to Ecaudor to Peru to Suriname to Uruguay to Colombia to Venezuela to Brazil... there are simply no limits on locale, except for the featuring artists' ancestries themselves, and that to hail from SA is a must. Here, after a stellar set of digitals recently from Sofia Duz, Zolbaran, Atemporal and Marcos Coya to name but a small few, we're now heard hearing the Uruguayan ur-builds of Marcos Coya ('Sabes Que Si'), the chord-smeared minitech funk of Colombian boheme Donnie Cosmo, and/or the hoarse breaks, seedy acids and "what do you wanna take tonight?"s of guileful Brasiliera, Guile.
Devante Embers - "When You Focus On The Good The Good Gets Better" (7:02)
Review: Marking out ten years of Monologues Records, label CEO Ben Gomori proposes a wide-ranging retrospective, bottling the label's ethos as a border-bending housebreaker. This sampler 12" complements the full 35-track digital release, which latterly mixes deep house, disco, Balearic, kwaito, breakbeat, jazz house, Afro house, melodic techno and more, these are the label's most slept-on cuts and utmost personal favourites, charting past releases by Gilles Peterson, Kerri Chandler, The Blessed Madonna, TSHA, Colleen Cosmo Murphy and Kamma & Masalo. The MO is to buck trends, and simply "sign and support good sh*t, wherever it comes from."
Review: A rare gem from the golden age of early reggae, this 1970 cut by Justin Hinds was originally released on a Duke Reid 7". It gets a welcome reissue here but still has plenty of lo-fi aesthetics, vinyl crackle and dusty sound that keeps it authentic rather than overly polished. Hinds' soulful vocal delivery and signature rhythm style shine as they capture the spirit of the era with subtle flair. On the flip side, a slinky, instrumental organ version by Gus McIntyre adds serious depth and makes this an irresistible double-sider or cracking up nice and loud through some towering speaker stacks.
B-STOCK: Sleeve damaged but otherwise in excellent condition
I Believe - "Master Spirit" (5:19)
Girls On Pills - "Vheladei" (Open Spaces Update) (4:44)
Steve Mantovani - "Doctor Of Dreams" (4:39)
Miki - "107" (Melly Melody version) (4:54)
Open Spaces - "A Beginning Of An Idea" (5:14)
Review: ***B-STOCK: Sleeve damaged but otherwise in excellent condition***
Volume One of a label retrospective of pioneering early 90s Prog House label Interactive Test Compiled by Alex from Utopia Records and enigmatic Interactive Test founder Franco Falsini. Falsini, responsible for many of the underground classics on the label he founded in Florence in 1991 was first known for his 70s Italian Prog / Cosmic group Sensations Fix. A trailblazer who continued to push the boundaries of electronic music two decades later with Interactive Test, accompanied by the up-and-coming talents of Trance hero DJ Miki the Dolphin, his brother Riccardo and an host of cult Italian music producers. Here we start with 5 tracks from the archive, all highly collectable, remastered for DJs and psychedelic music enthusiastic alike from the best sources possible. Authentic and original dance sounds still hitting the spot in our times.
Ramon Tapia - "Fear" (Dynamic Forces remix) (5:05)
Review: Netherlands techno titan Planet Rhythm goes full percussive gas giant on their latest V/A, 'Friction', a motorsport motivator full of accelerometric elan - one of several V/As to grace their revving catalogue in recent times. Ramon Tapia leads the motorcade with 'Friction', a stabbing aerator full of overtop claps and rims, while Louis Lp's 'Radioactivity' unsettles with its seething high ringing and affectively isolated chord-stab-melody. Deas' 'Hard Dreams' nods to the real, unshakeably material core of dreams, with its rancorous full-tone acids, while Ramon Topia closes with 'Fear', a restless, chord-throttling, hard trancey, speed demonic rally racer.
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