NORM TALLEY Vinilo y CD

Review: There is a heavyweight selection of names on this first release from Norm Talley's promising new label Upstairs Asylum. Firstly, the man himself is a Motor City heavyweight who links with fellow luminary Omar S on the opener 'Muggy Detroit Heat.' It's an intense and steamy house track that bristles with raw melody. On the flip, French house icon D'Julz reworks a tune by Norm in cahoots with the one and only Moodymann. This one is all cuddly chords, romanic vocal chops and warm, rough edged house beats for those cosy basements.

Review: Kai Alce's pretty much faultless label NDATL looks to a fellow American house heavyweight here in Detroit soldier Norm Talley, who is head of his own Upstairz Asylum label. First up is a textbook hard edge but deep house sound from Norm on 'Gonna Be' He then keeps things brilliantly deep on 'Power' which is laced with insightful spoken words. Things are just as essential on the flip side with 'The Bounce' making sure dancefloors do just that thanks to Norm's next level drum sounds, then comes the hypnotic 'The Truth' before Norm shows a different look than usual with the more soft and tender delights of 'Dearly Beloved' ft Jerald Dameyon.

Review: Recently Norm Talley launched a new label, Upstairs Asylum, and delivered a much-needed sequel to his superb 2011 EP on Mixmode, Tracks From The Asylum. A decade on from the record's original release, he's finally got around to producing a sequel. The native Detroiter predictably starts in fine fashion via 'Gonna Luv U', a chunky and locked-in house number rich in groovy bass, bold piano motifs, ear-cathing sax riffs and colourful P-funk samples, before heading ultra-deep via the beatdown-influenced haziness of 'Detroit Dubz'. 'In Your Soulz' sees him add energy-packed hand percussion and chiming lead lines to a bustling deep house beat, while 'Digital XTC (Detroit Mix)' is a spacey, hypnotic workout that sounds like it was tailor-made for dark warehouses in the hours approaching dawn.