Review: This glorious package of remixes of the BaianaSystem band draws together contemporary Brazilian sounds with plenty of modern dance floor flourishes. A?gua is the standout track from their 2018 LP and is a poem to the bands native Bahia people with the legendary Antonio Carlos & Jocafi. It is perfect material to rework for different settings and deep house don Jimpster does that with his fat bottomed, tropical remix then stripped back dub. Brazilian producer Diogo Strausz joins forces with RNT boss JKriv on the flip for a more drawn out and cosmic exploration that pumps up and down on weight bass and that lovely loose jumble of percussion.
Brooklyn Baby & Ten Fingerz - "Back To Acid" (5:54)
James Curd & Ten Fingerz - "Stash & Ride" (feat Mr Flip) (5:52)
S3A & Ten Fingerz - "We Are Acid Friendz" (6:28)
Tomasi Brothers & Ten Fingerz - "After Hours Club" (5:43)
Review: This new one from Frappe Records is all about the joy of collaboration and crafting banging acid cuts that tap into the genre's great traditions. As an all-time acid afficionado, Ten Fingerz features on them all starting with his 'Back to Acid' jam with Brooklyn Baby which is a brilliant throwback. With James Curd he gets more heady with the soft acid lines of 'Stash & Ride' and with S3A things get deep and slinky with 'We are Acid Friends' perfect for 5 am sessions. Last of all, Tomasi Brothers & Ten Fingerz craft 'After Hours Club' which is a timeless acid house workout.
Cor.ece & JKriv - "Dance To Keep From Crying" (extended mix) (8:01)
Cor.ece & Danny Kane - "What's The Word" (4:52)
Cor.ece - "Possibly Impossible" (feat Dave Giles II - Crackazat dub) (5:11)
Cor.ece - "Possibly Impossible" (feat Dave Giles II - extended mix) (6:46)
Review: Following the digital release of Cor.ece's debut EP, New York City's Razor N Tape drops the Dance To Keep From Crying 12' with fresh versions and exclusive remixes. On the first side, there's the soulful disco of the title track (extended mix) in collaboration with label co-head JKriv, followed by the acidified spiritual deep house of 'What's The Word' featuring Danny Kane. Over on the flip, get stoned into the groove with the Crackazat dub of 'Possibly Impossible' (feat Dave Giles II) and the late night boogie down vibe of the extended mix.
Off The Wall: Live Yokohama Japan 78 (Paso Dobleextended) (7:56)
Off The Wall: Live Yokohama Japan 78 (Paso Doble radio Edot) (4:29)
Off The Wall: Live Yokohama Japan 78 (Paso Doble instrumental) (3:09)
Review: Michael Jackson's Off The Wall tour is legendary. It came in the late 1980s and saw the King of Pop at the very height of his powers, mesmerising crowds with his iconic dance moves and impressing them just as much with his vocal performances. In 1987 he headed to Japan and played live in Yokohama one magical night which was recorded on tape forever. One of the tracks he played was the title cut from his Off The Wall album and now it's pressed up to blue 12" as three different Paso Doble mixes.
Review: Funk, soul and house music courses through the veins of Jamie 3:26 and he always manages to convey that into his irresistible grooves. The best of them come on his own label 326 which is where he arrives now with this new 12" Dancefloor Damage Vol 1. It's a tight affair with just one cut on each side of the wax, starting with 'Maqnifique' which is a steamy, intense disco house stomper with wiry lines and unrelenting grooves. On the flip is a very different vibe - a sunny, flute-led led and jazzy soulful house number with heart-melting chords.
Review: Italian trio Jestofunk released the acid-jazz-electronica anthem 'Can We Live' back in the mid '90s, featuring the unmistakable vocals of the legendary American vocalist Cece Rogers. Features the low slung groove of the Club Mix, which was the most commonly known version, as well as the Mandrilapella. On the B side of this repress you have the Soul Chemistry version which actually appeared on a remix EP that came out the year after and it's really good - life affirming and spiritual deep house in the vein of Prescription Records.
Review: Bad Timin's next drop is a sort of greatest hits collection that brings plenty of its previous releases by Jex Opolis to vinyl for the first time. It kicks off with the perma-fan-favourite 'Music' which is high on unbridled piano joy and hard house beats that bang. 'Lizard (feat Precious Okome)' is another one with surges of big chord magic, 'If You Wanna' has silky liquid synths and cosmic arps ensuring maximum take-off while 'Wide Awake (dub)' brings a kaleidoscopic intergalactic trip. This serves as both a perfect introduction for anyone who hasn't been paying close enough attention, or a fine collection of greats from the always on form Mr. Opolis.
Review: JKriv returns to Razor-N-Tape after two years away and in that time it is clear to say he has further fine tuned his sound. This latest offering kicks off with 'Blueprint' which is a nice loose sound with elastic acid lines and bright chord stabs. 'Intuition' (feat Megatronic) slows down to sun-kissed and lazy swagger with soulful spoken words and cuddly pads and soft shakers all soothing you to your core. 'Zone 1' then kicks on with a nice bright blend of nu-disco colours and soft acid undulations and 'Paula's Dance' (feat Pauha) closes with some steamy and timeless house that is perfect for sunset sessions.
Review: Stimulator Jones, you might know, is a Stones Throw artist, but here he lands on the house-leaning Star Creature with a new and exquisite outing that finds him tapping into a different side of his skills. He has dropped several fantastic albums before now that go from hip-hop to jazz-funk but here he taps into the magic of Chicago house greats like Fingers Inc and Larry Heard. 'Night Walk' is pure mid-tempo deep house perfection, 'Precious' layers in some tender vocals and a melodic bassline and 'Strive To Survive' brings more manic acid lines. 'Moon' shuts down with some irresistible swing and cosmic synth work.
Review: After a headturning debut release which soon sold out back in May, Detroit Basics is back with more magnificent machine music. And once again it is JR Disc who is serving up the sounds. 'Beautiful Blue Pillow' kicks off and sounds like Kraftwerk making funk electro complete with vocoder vocals and silky grooves. 'Mean Mugg' is a more rough and ready deep house sounds with frazzled synths growing ever more prominent and last of all, 'Under The Ground' shuts down with some stomping drums and glistening melodic pixels that rain down the face for a futuristic feel.
Memory By Flyway (Justin Spiritual Navigation mix) (8:55)
Review: This one was already getting plenty of support and many plays before it even came out. And it's easy to see why, because both tunes are brilliantly atmospheric house cuts that offer more than just a nice groove. 'Memory By Flyway' (original Tribute mix) has a grainy, lived-in feel, with warm chords smeared over the bumping beats and a spoken word vocal adding extra depth. The Justin Spiritual Navigation mix reworks the drums into a more funky, skipping framework but keeps the vocal musings and adds some spiritual keys for a proper heady trip.
Jamma D - "Don't Wanna Leave The Couch Today" (4:20)
Roche - "House Shuffle Boogie" (6:13)
Darone Sassounian - "Arms" (6:18)
Review: This deep, jazzy and lo-fi house 12" is perfect for escaping at this time of year as the hustle and bustle of the holiday season and the general weight of modern life can get all too much. It comes from an array of standout producers from around the world including Darone Sassounian, Jamma D and Jarren from Los Angeles, Roche from Portland and Morris Mobley from Nancy, France. Between them, they offer the cuddly, cloudy depths of 'Drippin'' (Sauce dub), humid and jazzy heat of the sumptuous 'Don't Wanna Leave The Couch Today', playful rhythms of 'House Shuffle Boogie' and more besides.
Review: It's another family affair over at New York City's Razor N Tape label. For this edition, they have tapped the ever reliable Israeli indie-dance heroes Red Axes for a euphoric rendition of Nenor's 'Do You Remember' (feat Jenny Penkin) making for proper Balearic vibes, while the one-and-only Boo Williams delivers another ultra-deep house journey in the form of 'Besty Smith'. Over on the flip, we see the return of New Zealand-based producer Frank Booker who hands in the late night mood music of 'Time Won't Tell' followed by Peter Matson with a slinky and neon-lit rework of label chief JKriv's 'Something Else'.
Review: By Alex "Omar" Smith's standards, "I Wanna Know" is something of a curveball. It sees him joining forces with vocalist James Garcia to lay down the sort of spine-tingling vocal house cut that would have once been associated with Chicago acts such as Fingers Inc. Admittedly, it contains plenty of far-sighted Detroit electronics and Smith's usual percussive shuffle, but there's a genuine retro-futurist feel that may take some of his fans by surprise. It's rather wonderful, all told, and sounds like a crossover anthem in waiting. Turn to the flipside and you'll find the Extramental Mix, a superb instrumental version that gives Smith's sublime melodies, vintage synths and sparkling electronics a chance to shine. Artwork of the year too!
Review: Built around a central Stax Records gem from the late 1960s, Purple Disco Machine's 'Devil In Me' is an emotional disco-house burster that reappropriates the staunch voices of Judy Clay and William Bell's 'Private Number'. But the function of this track isn't to evoke mournful blues 'motion more than it is to get you up and dancing; truly, the hard edges and funk bounces of this track will 'bring out the devil' in you too. Fittingly, it comes to a blood red vinyl 12" edition.
Review: The Vessel Recordings label - with owner/orchestrator Ira James at its helm - has pretty much won us over right from the off. It has dropped a slew of early releases all at once and they are all well-crafted and original deep house EPs that marry soul and drive to perfection. 'Body' licks off and has a humid and sexy throb to it, while 'Freespeech' is more raw and dirty. It's brilliant, too, with deft chords and seductive vocals woven into the mix. 'Hourglass' shuts down with some crisp percussive house action and proper nice chord work that oozes soul. A great collab from Juwan Rates and Jlove, a pair we can't wait to hear more from.
Review: Rush Hour has been one of Europe's independent musical powerhouses for decades now. Now only does it have Amsterdam's best record shop, but it throws the best parties and puts put the fresh new records from several different genres. next to that of course they also know how to dig deep and unearth vital reissues, which is what they do here with a triple headed Japanese house affair. Katsuya Sano keeps it OG Chicago with his 'I Need Luv', then Junichi Soma offers the analogue depths of 'Ubnormal Life' and Shuji Wada shuts down with more brilliantly atmospheric sounds on 'Endless Load.'
Review: Germany's Editor Amore label continues to serve up lovable edits on hand stamped 12"s. This one kicks off with Lee Stefano & Simone Lebon's take on 'Dolci Emozioi.' It is a big, acid tinged and spangled disco tune with a chugging groove that slowly but surely works you into a lather. On the flip side, things grow a little more loose and playful as Jakobin & Domino link up to edit 'Amore In Fuga.' It's a delay-drenched, fat bottomed disco stomper with big vocals and plenty of lush strings.
Review: Mark Night's label is one of the UK's biggest when it comes to main room house sounds. This sampler shows exactly what it is all about as we head into the madness of the Miami Music Week and then Ibiza soon after. Twolate opens up with 'Baila' which has tribal drums and percusison that stomp with real heaviness under wild vocals. CASSIMM & Gene Farris combine then for the maximal monster that is 'Party People' with all its sweeping synth filters and James Haskell's' 'Check It Out' is a funky groove that ducks and dives under stuff chords. Last of all is Danny Rhys with the hooky andoopy joys of 'Sibali.'
Zarenzeit - "Soo Smooth" (feat Roger Versey) (6:11)
Melchior Sultana - "Nothing Like It Seems" (5:56)
Jan Kincl - "Sugar" (7:06)
Barce - "Stigma" (6:19)
Review: The young but already well-formed Deep Inspiration Show label continues its dedication to quality deep house with a new EP that comes as part of their international artist series. Zarenzeit from Zurich and Roger Versey from Arkansas open with 'So Smooth', a blend of rich keys, soulful loops and dynamic vocals over a sensual bassline. Melchior Sultana hails from sunny Malta and follows with 'Nothing Like It Seems' which features silky chords and a shuffling rhythm ideal for late-night sets. On the B-side, Jan Kincl from Zagreb delivers 'Sugar,' a fusion of house and cinematic disco with organic drums while Spain's Barce closes with 'Stigma,' a melodic union of deep house and techno.
Review: Red Ember Records main man Ewan Jansen may have been serving up dusty deep house and tactile dancefloor workouts since the late 1990s, but he's not released many full-length excursions. In fact, this outing Butter Sessions is his first longform release for nearly 16 years. It's a proper album, too, with the Perth-based producer using the opportunity to experiment with different rhythms, tempos and sounds whilst retaining his usual melodiousness and keen sense of atmosphere. Highlights include, but are in no way limited to, off-kilter opener 'Mussel Hustle', the acid-flecked, early morning dancefloor fever dream 'Kooka', the melodious electro sea breeze of 'Watertable' and the mid-80s Japanese synth-pop/electrofunk eccentricity of 'Proteus vs Yoshimitsu'.
Review: California's Joe Babylon has been steering his own Roundabout Sounds through some lovely deep house waters over the last few years. Now the producer makes a big statement with his own debut album. He is something of a veteran having co-founded Plug Research back in 1994 and hosted underground events in Los Angeles during the mid '90s. Following on from outings alongside the likes of Rick Wilhite and Rondenion he now brings his own dusty, carefully disheveled house sounds to the fore. They have been crafted using an MPC which gives them their rough-edged appeal and they go from heads down back room joints to dubbed-out minimalism via dream late-night reveries. It makes for a fresh take on a tried and tested house template.
Review: We don't half love a bit of Steven Julien, the artist formally known as Funkineven. And this new EP arrives just at the right time as the days brighten, the sun heats up and cruising day-time funk, house and boogie blends are all you want to pump out of your retro 3 series with the top down. 'Time' has distinctly 80s flavours with its bright chords and beats, 'Ultra' is more heavy with a contemporary rap/trap edge and 'Up' is a raw house cut with swinging kicks. 'Wraap't' is another crunchy and loved-up 80s street soul sound then 'Lil'bit' and 'Ballad' close out with more neon pads and retro-future melodic sparkle.
We use cookies to personalise content and ads, to provide social media features and to analyse our traffic. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners who may combine it with other information that you've provided to them or that they've collected from your use of their services.