RON TRENT Vinilo y CD

Review: After spending much of the last five years confined to the United States, Ron Trent is off on tour this year. As a way of re-introducing himself - not the deep house legend needed to do that of course - he has partnered with Rush Hour to release Lift Off, a fresh double album of previously unheard music. More defiantly dancefloor-centric than his previous album, the decidedly cosmic and downtempo 'What Do The Stars Say To You' (as WARM), the two-disc set sees the Chicagoan combine his usual percussively-layered grooves, warming basslines and colourful synth sounds with nods to all manner of musical influences old and new. The results are uniformly superb, with our picks of a very strong bunch including the spacey future-boogie of Leroy Burgess collaboration 'Let Me See You Shining', the spaced-out, slow-motion epic that is 'Woman of Color', the AM radio-friendly Balearic pop of 'Just Another Love Song' and the undeniably gorgeous 'Street Wave'.

Review: Ron Trent rarely does things by halves, packing his effortlessly soulful and musically expansive deep house tracks with all manner of elements. Even so, there's something undeniably epic about this heartfelt, ten-minute tribute to Music Box legend Ron Hardy. Featuring the twin attractions of overlapping spoken and sung vocals (from Cei Bei and Harry Dennis), "Tribute To Ron Hardy" is notably more electronic and European-influenced than many of the great man's productions. Its' shuffling, rising drum machine rhythms and colourful, lopped synth refrain are its' strongest suit, but the whole track is, of course, delicious. Either way, it's a fitting tribute.

Review: During the 1990s, Chez Damier and Ron Trent's Prescription Records did more than any other label to define the sound of Chicago deep house. The label's reputation is such that it's still talked about in hushed tones, with lesser-known back catalogue nuggets remaining in-demand items with DJs and record collectors. This superb, double-disc compilation from Rush Hour tells the story of the label, gathering together both much-played underground anthems (Trent and Damier's "Morning Factory" and "The Choice", the proto-boompty-via-St Germain jazz-house of Angora's "Enchantment", and so on) and sought-after selections. Thrillingly, the collection also boasts a trio of previously unreleased Ron Trent cuts, all of which are superb.