THE Vinilo y CD

Review: The Cornish boy wonder Luke Vibert has spread his wings so brightly during the last decade as Kerrier District, Yoseph, Amen Andrews, Spac Hand Luke, Plug and of course Wagon Christ, you'd be forgiven for thinking that he's covered all the ground. Demented filthy disco, killer aquatic blue ambience, drill n' bass, breaking funk, library music, instrumental hip-hop and lethal acid styles. With only a rare promo 12" issued five years ago, the name Ace Of Clubs will probably mean nothing to the even the most obsessive Vibert geeks. Now the next chapter is here in the form of "Benefist".

Review: The Cornish boy wonder Luke Vibert has spread his wings so brightly during the last decade as Kerrier District, Yoseph, Amen Andrews, Spac Hand Luke, Plug and of course Wagon Christ, you'd be forgiven for thinking that he's covered all the ground. Demented filthy disco, killer aquatic blue ambience, drill n' bass, breaking funk, library music, instrumental hip-hop and lethal acid styles. With only a rare promo 12" issued five years ago, the name Ace Of Clubs will probably mean nothing to the even the most obsessive Vibert geeks. Now the next chapter is here in the form of "Benefist".

Review: Andrew Weatherall and Timothy J Fairplay's project of dubbed out disco and house spread itself comfortably across the Ruled By Passion, Destroyed By Lust LP on Rotters Golf Club mere months before, and now a rag tag collection of remixers has been drawn together to reinterpret most of the album. They've reached for like-minded souls, such as Ivan Smagghe, Phil Kieran, Richard Sen and Justin Robertson with the latter's Deadstock 33s remix of "Beglammered" filled with nervy industrial undertones. Elsewhere, Black Merlin do an especially captivating job of soundtracking "Skwatch" into a lurid 80s gore fest for the ears, while Scott Fraser whips up a hypnotic Italo inflected stomper, but really every one of these esteemed producers adds to the overall tone of vintage, motor-powered dance music for ghoulish souls.

Review: Ruled by Passion, Destroyed by Lust marks the fine debut of The Asphodells, Andrew Weatherall's latest collaboration with close friend and creative foil Timothy J Fairplay. Their compatibility shines through, taking their shared interests and inspirations and playfully tosses them together to create a stylish, coherent whole. The album displays its dark underbelly proudly, but there are more than enough shards of light to inspire those salivating after the bold melodies of Two Lone Swordsmen or the naive, child-like bagginess of Weatherall's Screamadelica era work. At times reminiscent of New Order and others cripplingly paranoia inducing, this ten track set concludes in sublime fashion with the duo's dreamy, cosmic disco-era cover of A.R. Kane's "A Love From Out Of Space"

Review: Having produced hits for artists such as Ultra Nate, Crystal Waters and Mass Order and remixing tracks by Michael Jackson, Erykah Badu, Angie Stone and Lenny Kravitz as well as knocking out underground classics under the names of 33 1/3 Queen and Those Guys, it's no surprise that The Basement Boys are regarded as pioneers of American dance music. Synonymous with the deep house and garage sounds of the mid 90's, the boys have also lent their golden touch to more contemporary artists such as Shaun Escoffery, Marcell Russell and Bob Sinclair.

Little Maurice Jones was born deep in a Louisiana bayou in 1932. While he grew up in a family of guitar pickers, he gravitated towards banging things constantly at a very early age, much to his momma's dismay and annoyance. Eventually, he made his way to the drums (his heavy footed style earning him the Mudfoot moniker) though can play pretty much any instrument and will sing if coaxed or bribed appropriately. On this 12" you will find four tracks performed and written by Jones alongside the Basement Boys, all overflowing with soul, funk and a positive energy to make ´em break a sweat on the dancefloor.

Review: Great start of 2008 for all hardstyle lovers with this brand new Seismic Records release,
'Euphoria', produced by hardstyle masters The Beholder and DJ Zany. The title track is
a monster tune containing well-found classic choir parts, massive synth works, phat edits
and powerful bass drums.

Review: Dutch-melody hardstyle.

Review: CD reissue of this legendary groups only full length album. Including four unreleased tracks plus four tracks previously unavailable on CD plus the classics: "Feel the Horns", "We Can Do This", "The Bronx", "Cold Crush" and more.

Review: CD reissue of this legendary groups only full length album. Including four unreleased tracks plus four tracks previously unavailable on CD plus the classics: "Feel the Horns", "We Can Do This", "The Bronx", "Cold Crush" and more.

Review: Most people will be sold 'Kung Fu' (Mahogani) based on a 2 minute bit at the end of side b. Pitch Black City was a loose collaborative entity with several Detroit musicians, including percussionist Andrés, vocalist Roberta Sweed and keyboardist Amp Fiddler. A one-sided 12" credited to Pitch Black City appeared on Mahogani in 2003; and PBC was featured on a track on Moodymann's 'Silence in the Secret Garden' LP, released the same year on Peacefrog. This is one of those KDJ tracks that has a spacey intro with a breathy spoken word piece, followed by a short, typically Kenny, house track. Now, we'll direct your attention as well to the two Dirtbombs tracks that comprise the bulk of this EP. The Dirtbombs are one of Detroit legend Mick Collins' many post-Gories projects. Other than consistently loud volumes and lots of noise, the Dirtbombs actually had a surprisingly diverse sound, comprising a broad spectrum of styles from garage rock, punk and glam to classic soul and R&B. The a-side track is a dubbed out garage-ska rocker, really loud and in-your-face. The b-side is a gritty funk-rock number that will play on some more adventurous floors, but most of this record will play better to rock audiences than to typical house ones.

Review: New music from Morgan Geist will always be celebrated thanks to his role in Metro Area, and more recently Storm Queen, and the New York producer is certainly on effervescent form with this debut 12" under his new project The Galleria. The four track Calling Card 12" finds Geist calling on the spirit of freestyle, club dubs, razor-edits and bubblegum-pop R&B there is something immediately satisfying to each one of them. Hyperdub artist Jessy Lanza provides some thrilling vocals to both original versions of "Calling Card" and "Mezzanine", the latter is a particularly sweet proposition, and Geist also contributes some superb '80s style dubs.

Review: Coated in an uncompromising sonic nastiness that belies the lovely blue vinyl and free MP3 offer, The Hard Way sees Limewax, Bong Ra and Thrasher at their most brutal. The title track is 90% hardstyle with just a wee dash of breakcore to maintain a very light sense of groove. "Pentagram Of Coke", meanwhile, is 95% breakcore with just a splash of gabba to maintain a very heavy sense of insanity. Both are outrageously ugly and will go down like a house on fire at any warehouse, squat or free party.

Review: Re-issue of the clicky-clacky 2006 discoclash cut 'Make The World Go Away', a strange trio of club bits that slap as much as they emote. This one comes in the form of a new remastered version by Alden Tyrell and DJ Overdose; as difficult as it is to make out the vocals, we glean a bittersweet suicidality from the track, as an alienated robot voice sings of just that. A slapping darkwave synthesis peaks its way through on the two newer tracks; 'Aint The Same As Before' is chugging and clippy, while 'Keep Fooling Yourself' is the triumphant instrumental that rounds it all off.

Review: Under The Hasbeens name, Dutch pair Alden Tyrell and Jeroen 'DJ Overdose' Warmenhoven have been collaborating on an intermittent basis since 2006 which is entirely understandable given the respective various projects they both currently have on the go. Maybe is the duo's first release together since I Fall to Pieces and You & Me from 2009, and a welcome debut on the always great Bordello A Parigi label. Whilst previous material from The Hasbeens has, er, been characterised by shifts between restraint and full on Italo cheese, this new release is Tyrell and Overdose on a leaner, more club focused tip. Vocodered vocals, Skatt Brothers style basslines and fast paced techno drums never sounded so good!

Review: Limited 250 copies one-sided Clone X series release by The Hasbeens. (The Hague meets Rotterdam kind of collaboration between Alden Tyrell and DJ Overdose). The Hasbeens say "Trying is the first step towards failure. We are happy they tried. You decide for yourself if it's a failure or not."

Review: Jesper Dahlback as The Persuader provides some landscape dub techno for Par Grindvik's heavy hitting Stockholm LTD. The EP's title-track, "Fusion Of Thoughts", shares a similar floating arrangement to Tom Dicicco's Stockholm LTD debut, "Night Erosion", while things settle into something stripped and rhythmic in "Transform Human". "Absolute Reliance" provides some obscure, big room, 909 driven acid techno, leaving Grindvik with a final spot to remix "Fusion Of Thoughts", toning back the chords while beefing-up and tightening-up the groove, which at some points almost sounds like a reinterpretation of Ben Klock's "Sub Zero".

Review: Fresh from David K & Terry's Funkola banger, Strobe Music invites compagneros The Photogenix (Exun, Red Music, Grab recordings) to take turns! On this 2 tracker, The Photogenix (aka Ilija Rudman & Edvard Kofner) exploit sleazy eighties funk combining it with nowadays hard hitting dance floor beatz! Check "Moves You Make", a prime example of their production skills with its B-Boy bassline & phunky snippets & atmospheric pads, a true delight... Turn the record for "Even Better" a turning things up a notch, with pounding 4/4 beatz & phat bass line before lush strings & ferocious stabs come in...certainly a winner for Strobe Music!

Review: Gabriel Reyes-Whittaker adopts the rarely used alias The Reflektor for this finely judged debut on Wild Oats. The Los Angeles based artist is most commonly know for his work as Gifted & Blessed, and anyone familiar with that music will certainly need little additional information to investigate the Las Ruinas Mayas 12". Purportedly recorded as "a tribute to one of the many Mayan spiritual sites known to date", musically these influences manifest themselves with considered subtlety, allowing Reyes-Whittaker to showcase his undoubted mastery of soulful electro and primitive house music. The extra layers of sonic dust make it all the more appropriate for Kyle Hall's label.

Review: Rotating Assembly is a new band put together by Theo Parrish. This loose Detroit outfit revolves around 21 people, who exchange talents and energy. All tracks are written, produced and masterminded by Theo Parrish, who has given them his signature sound. Artists included in the band are: Genevieve (known for vocals with Recloose), Maat Lo (aka Billy Lo), Marcellus Pittman, Rick Wilhite (3 Chairs) and Warren Harris (recorded with Dan Curtin). Also people such as Karen Bosco (most vocals) John Douglas (trumpet) and King Sunshine & Trent Mitchell (double bass) put in incredible effort to make this release a top title. From the laidback vocal tune "Naturally" to the instrumental emotions of "Melt" it's all there to make this album an all round experience. From strength to strength, Theo Parrish takes it to the next level once again.

Review: The latest release Puma Strut teams up with none other than Philadelphia's The Soulman (aka Phil Most). Anyone involved in the world of original funk, soul, rock breaks & old school/golden era hip hop will know of the Soulman & his contribution to the scene. He is the man behind one of the most sought after independent hip hop 12"s of the 80s "On Tempo Jack"! & Scribed the infamous "World Of Beats" column for Rap Sheet Magazine, plus the website & classic break mixes of the same name. This time he has pulled a little project out of the vaults which brings back that old lo-fi hip hop sound when beats were 'raw & funky' instead of today's norm of 'over processed & jerky'! How did he manage it? Well, he recently unearthed a ten-year-old box of dusty tapes & on giving them a listen he found some raw beats he'd hooked up back in 1994 & decided to add some new rhymes to these lost gems. That's right, there's a ten-year gap between the beats & the rhymes, which gives the "Lo-Fi Theory" its unique warmth, bounce & feel. As for the music, Soulman keeps the minimal funk in the mix with tough, heavy drum breaks, deep, rolling bass lines, & hot loops reminiscent of a golden age of hip hop from years gone by. When it comes to mic duties Soul delivers with super fresh punch lines, tight flow & cutting lyrics, showing a lot of new jack MCs how it really should be done. The opening track 'Walking Papers' hears Phill firing sucker MCs & getting them to clean out their desks on the way. The second cut "Oh Sh!t" comes with some super dark movie-style bass & a classic dis & punch line style: "I bring the heat until your hair is wiltin' / a lot of rappers are famous with no talent like Paris Hilton". Next up "Play It Cool", a tale of trying to keep your head whilst those around you are losing theirs! Last, but by no means least, "The Real Thing" sees Soulman telling it like it is & showing his lyrical skill to the fullest: "I am the real thing, don't get it confused/you're foolin' with a human Rubik's Cube, don't do it, dude!". This will be a must for all hip hop heads who love that old school flavour, along with the usual Puma Strut fan base & Soulman's following within the beat digging scene. The EP is on high quality vinyl, shrink-wrapped with full colour label and sleeve!

Review: The Spirits Have Spoken sees Jamal Moss returns to the Sequencias label for more killer discordant, psychedelic transmissions as the Sun God! After years of dormancy, Moss returned to the Sun Ra riffing project in devastating style last year with the Being Hieroglyphic EP for Paul Du Lac's consistently interesting Bio Rhythm label, which featured three remastered tracks from the Music For Mathematics CDr series and sounded like Ron Hardy back in business after a deal with the devil. That's a good frame of mind to approach The Spirits Have Spoken; the trademark glistening synth lead of "Spoken By The Spirit" is Jamal Moss at his most hypnotic whilst "4 This Is Your Salvation" is as hellish as the producer's stunning Morphine Records release The Lost Transmission.

Review: Charles Matlock aka The Voice is our first Chicago signature! A few years ago Charles collaborated on the fantastic deep house classic "Memories" with Glenn Underground. This time Charles gives us another jewel in the form of a highly political and superbly executed African house stormer called "Horror In Sudan". On A1, Charles, backed by a full band, brings us back to the heydays of engaged African music with obvious reminiscences of Hugh Masekela & Fela Kuti. Produced more than a year ago, with sumptuous vocals from Somalian singers Orala Hershi and Africa Brown, this track is sadly still very actual. Music is still the weapon of the future. A2 sees one of our fave producer of all time on perfect remix duty! Phil Asher drops a mad Restless Soul dub all about the dancefloor and the African vibe. Like Phil said about this mix "This is house music!" On B1 you get the full on Restless Soul mix, a superbly deep and powerful version of the original that still carries the message and definitely can make the dancefloor go nuts. On B2 "Patchworks" pulls out the live upright bass and shows us how to get down on a swinging killer mix. One again, a winner, this mix will appeal to all the early Kenny Dope fans and the nu-jazz heads.