Felipe Gordon

Review: The insatiable rise of Felipe Gordon continues apace. The Colombian has been in a rich vein of form over the last 18 months, chalking up must-check EPs on Quintessentials, Toy Tonics, Lost Palms, and Razor 'N' Tape Reserve. Here he adds another label to his discography: celebrated Swedish house outlet Local Talk. Title track "For A Bright & Acid Future" hits the spot from the word go, with Gordon wrapping twisted, rough-neck acid lines around a bustling backing track rich in fuzzy synth stabs, jazzy bass guitar and crunchy beats. Over on the flip Kear lends a hand on the sun-kissed, soft focus brilliance of jazz-funk/Jazz/deep Latin house fusion of "Son Esquivias", a slab of breezy, percussion-rich goodness that could well be Gordon's most musically expansive track to date.

Review: The final Razor-N-Tape Reserve release of 2019 comes courtesy of Colombian Felipe Gordon, a producer who has appeared on an impressive selection of labels over the last few years (Quintessentials, Black Jukebox, Toy Tonics and Nomada Records included). In keeping with the series nature, these are not re-edits but rather sample-heavy chunks of deep house goodness. Our pick of the bunch is undoubtedly the jazzy dustiness of opener "Those Quiet Eyes Of Yours", though the piano-heavy rush of "There's A Part Of Me That's Always True" and the bumpin', all-action "Now That You Caught My Heart For The Evening" do run it close. "That Night At El Bukowski", another jazz-sampling shuffler, is also rather good.

Review: Sheffield's Moment Cinetique has laid down a distinctive MO within the deep house field, favouring dusty, sample-heavy rollers from a close circle of artists. On this various artists release they call on friends new and old, leading in with Felipe Gordon's rolling and tumbling "Rio" which is as crooked as it is funky. Label mainstay Freudenthaler has some choice jazz licks strapped to an irresistible beat and wandering bassline on "Bel Air", while G. Markus channels a touch of Moodymann vibes on the looped up, feverish "Cherchez Le G". Reece Johnson takes things smooth and smoky on the top end of "Montreux", but flips it with a gritty kick drum to lend the track some rugged weight for the dance.

Review: Given their deep-rooted knowledge of the re-edit scene, it was probably only a matter of time before the Razor 'N' Tape crew turned their attention to Colombian scalpel fiends Felipe Gordon & Vagabundo Club Social. This outing on Aaron Dae and JKriv's imprint could well be the South Americans' finest work to date. We're particularly enjoying A-side "Shakala", a gently tooled-up and dubbed-out revision of a dusty, tropical disco-funk treat rich in Fela Kuti style Afrobeat grooves, rising horns and flanged guitar riffs. That said, we've also got a lot of love for the fiery horns, bustling rhythms and warm bass of "Los Bareteros" (a revision of a well known, boogaloo-era Afro-Latin jazz dancefloor classic), as well as the similarly minded - but altogether heavier - "El Cateter".

Review: Off Track's second EP is a masterclass in tough and ready house that is jam packed with musicality. The kicks of Felipe Gordon's 'We All Got The Time' are scuffed up and heart felt, and the noodling keys are pure joy. 'Back Into Time' then brings even more jazz-funk vibes to a languid beat perfect for sundown and Will Buck then goes solo after that collab with a soul drenched tune Moodymann would be proud of. The vibe is totally switched up for 'I'll B Right There,' which pairs the classic sample with sustained pads and hardcore house drums designed purely to make you sweat.

Review: Soon London's SlothBoogie crew will release "Dancing With Friends", a celebratory compilation marking the blog-turned-label's 10th year in operation. This sampler 12" showcases a quartet of cuts from the forthcoming compilation, which is entirely made up of previously unheard productions. Our pick of the bunch is Kassian's fantastically driving and surprisingly low-slung disco-house stomper "Warehouse Discotheque", which more than lives up to its name, though the lo-fi piano-house loop-funk of Leatherette's "Your Love" pushes it close. Elsewhere, Joe Cleen's contribution is a deliciously daring fusion of jazz-funk flourishes and organic deep house jauntiness, while Felipe Gordon's "Deep Like The Hole We Live In" is a woozy skip through hybrid nu-disco/deep house territory.