Review: This third volume of instrumentals continues the faultless Isle of Jura label's deep dive into dub versions and beyond. Side one takes in references from UK street soul and reggae and features two late-'80s tracks by Howard Hill with machine-led rhythms, rudeboy reggae skank and soulful pads. Protek's 'I Love to Dance With You' is a proto-house gem featured in a Jura Soundsystem mix and here it gets a loving re-edit by The Nightlark. Side B includes an instrumental-driven track with spacey FX from The Cool Notes' and Ilija Rudman's 'Dub 4 Love' which is a knowing nod to acid house's golden era.
Review: Inhale Exhale bring six full new circular round-trip breaths to the fold, focusing on heartwarming and soulful summer deep house tunes. Intended mostly for outdoor disco BBQs, 'INEX 017' packs a fruitful punch. Opening proceedings on the A come 'Make It Right', 'Understand U' and 'Tears Of The M1', a power-of-three intro tracking a vibeful descension from crystalline waters, synth organs and high string samples down to the chillest of vinyl-crackly, primal mini tech moods. Then there's the unmissable mirror image on the B, podding 'Everytime', 'Clyde' and 'Keep The Stabs', the last of which is an especially delicious, refractive groove.
Review: Oozing with slippery sound design and euphoric exudate, Andrey Djackonda, Etzu Mahkayah, and TooRare team up for a next-gen talent demo in EP form, well and truly showing any other upstart how trancey-prog-minimal house is and should indeed be done. Said to have been designed to create a feeling of uplift and positivity - and yet in our opinion, the record touches on relatively more neutral and trancier moods, ones which could go either way - the likes of 'Que Le Jour Se Leve' and 'Sunrise In Amsterdam' are highly maximised, entelechic tech-trance progressors, highlt reflective of the verve and dedicated so far enshrined in the work of Saint Petersburg label MixCult.
Review: Eight further sonic spirits are conjured on the seventh edition in Damian Lazarus' annual compilation series. Emphasising deep house and techno grooves with a hypnotic flavour, the procurement here is exemplarily brooding; Dino Lenny's 'I Have Sampled Father' marks a sure turn away from the openers' cleaner-cut mesmerisms with a smoky, funk-inflected haze, bringing rhythm guitar and paternal murmurations to a surreal montage. The monologuing mood continues on the equal highlight that is Upercent's 'Where Are You', whilst Enamour's 'Jackpot' rounds out the show with the record's only brightly-lit minimal triller. The record is marked by sensuous, distant, familiar voices throughout.
Review: Originally released back in 2011 in conjunction with Scion Audio/Visual now repressed by Omar S on his FXHE label "Who's In Key" features Theo Parrish!
Review: Timmy and South African songstress Toshi Tikolo, who hails from Kwalanga Township in Cape Town, collaborate on this powerful Afro House track that showcases a deep, spiritual side of the genre. Known for its impact on Shelter Heads and beyond, the instrumental mix alone packs a punch. Joaquin Joe Claussell elevates things with his signature and sacred style that transforms the original Afro roots into something entirely unique. His remixes, including the wonderful Cosmic Arts Afro and Drum Gathering versions, add plenty of depth to an already captivating original. This is as authentic as Afro house gets.
Review: With a dizzying array of titles to his name - from multi-instrumentalist, to writer, to arranger, and producer - Kaidi Tatham is one of the UK's finest members of the nu-jazz and soulful dance music scene. 'It Never Stops' is his latest jazz-infused deep house EP, marking his first appearance on the iconic Cologne-based label, Yore. Following stand-out releases from Andy Vaz and Kez YM, this is another glistening addition to the label's catalogue. Tatham's delicate arrangement of light-footed grooves accompanied by melodies imbued with warmth grants this release suitability for both the cosy environs of home listening as well as dancefloors. Part of the label's highly sought after "limited" range, this is a release you'll want to get your hands on ASAP.
Review: Ron Moreli's famously sleazy LIEs welcomes back one of its regular artists in Lipelis, this time with his TMO project alongside extra goodness from keyboardist Eugene Piankov. The pair really go for it from the off, with anthemic house stomper 'Goes D Jam' offering up squealing 303 and 909s that ring out into the cosmos over crunchy drums. '112 Bright Jam' is slower, deeper, more heartfelt with its tender piano chords and 'Goes C Jam' is an acid laced piano celebration. Last of all is '107 Dark Jam' which is a heads down stomp with acid meditations for grotty warehouse spaces at 5am.
Review: The unstoppable and irrepressible Louie Vega has commissioned a bunch of remixes of Tony Touch's 'Sacude' for his own Vega label. The man himself opens things up with a Brooklyn mix that is heavy on raw beats, percussion and Latin rhythm. Manoos goes for something a little more smooth and shuffling, while Oscar G's 305 remix is a deep, elastic groove with eerie synth work. He also serves up a dub, Tony Touch reworks his own original into something full of fire and a dark Louie Vega Bronx mix closes out the package.
The Masters At Work (Keep It Comin' Now) (One take Tito mix) (5:08)
The Masters At Work (Keep It Comin' Now) (Masters At Work dub) (4:59)
The Masters At Work (Keep It Comin' Now) (bonus beats) (3:35)
The Masters At Work (Keep It Comin' Now) (The Kenlou mix) (5:38)
The Masters At Work (Keep It Comin' Now) (Eddie Mood dub) (6:33)
The Masters At Work (Keep It Comin' Now) (LP version) (4:21)
Review: Rather significant as old-school house releases go, the chain of influences behind Masters At Work’s ’The Masters At Work (Keep It Comin’ Now)’ is an elusive one. In 1991, Louie Vega and Marc Antony remixed new jack swing titan Keith Sweat’s own ‘Keep It Comin’, a timeless B3 side to round out Sweat’s original Elektra Records release. The track was a snowballer indeed, as it evolved into a standalone B-side in its own right, complementing the garage house classic release ‘Ride On The Rhythm’ on Atlantic Records. Now promoted once again to an A-side, we hear three new and exclusive mixes of thee original dub as well as two variations: Latinesque backing fills and programmable melodics twaddle away in the background of One Take Tito’s mix, while Kenlou and Eddie Mood bring twin yogic, myofibril relaxations to an already contracted sound.
Review: TrioRox is a new project uniting three prominent Italian music figures namely pianist Giovanni Guidi, bassist Joe Rehmer, and electronic musician DJ Rocca aka Luca Roccatagliati. Guidi, a jazz piano prodigy, has recorded for ECM and collaborated with Enrico Rava and Ricardo Villalobos before now while Rehmer, an American bass player based in Italy, has worked with jazz greats like Bob Mintzer. Here they combine their skills with Rocca on a record that is a mix of electronic, dance, jazz and pop styles, all with some sleek underlying grooves and hints of electro, classical and minimalism that add up to a real melting pot.
International Smoke Signal (feat Manu Dibango) (6:06)
Oh Yes (Freedom) (5:08)
Ai Shi Temasu (Japanese Love) (4:28)
Show Them (4:00)
Review: Tony 'Addis', the man behind the Warriors Dance label and No Smoke project (amongst many other things) is undeniably one of British dance music's unsung heroes. That much is proved by this re-mastered reissue of 1990 LP "International Smoke Signal", an album so ahead of the game at the time of its release that it still sounds like the future. Most will know acid house anthem "Koro Koro" (here in altered, slightly more downtempo form), but it's the quality of the lesser-known cuts - the sub-heavy, UK steppas-influenced Afro-house of "East of Eden", the bleep-meets-Dream II Science deep house bliss of "OAU In Music", acid-fired "Anti Galactic Devotion" and "Pacific State" style E-rush of "Oh Yes (Freedom)" - that makes it such an impressive and essential set.
Review: Although not as celebrated as many of his Motor City contemporaries, Norm Talley has been a key figure on the Detroit deep house scene for the best part of 25 years. Here he presents his debut album, a set that appears exactly 20 years on from the release of his debut 12". It's a largely warm, rich and inviting affair, with Talley combining samples from classic disco, soul and boogie jams with his own drums, keys and chords. The results are uniformly superb, with highlights including the beatdown style hypnotism of "Dub Station", the disco-house bounce of "Alright", the deep and percussive dreaminess of "Earth Vibrations" and the brilliantly jazzy "Paradise Garage", where Talley cuts-up killer electric piano solos over a sumptuous, jazz-funk inspired house groove.
Review: Although not as celebrated as many of his Motor City contemporaries, Norm Talley has been a key figure on the Detroit deep house scene for the best part of 25 years. Here he presents his debut album, a set that appears exactly 20 years on from the release of his debut 12". It's a largely warm, rich and inviting affair, with Talley combining samples from classic disco, soul and boogie jams with his own drums, keys and chords. The results are uniformly superb, with highlights including the beatdown style hypnotism of "Dub Station", the disco-house bounce of "Alright", the deep and percussive dreaminess of "Earth Vibrations" and the brilliantly jazzy "Paradise Garage", where Talley cuts-up killer electric piano solos over a sumptuous, jazz-funk inspired house groove.
Jordan Fields - "It's An Interesting Thought" (5:19)
Black Eyes - "Get Down For The Hydro" (5:54)
New Digital Fidelity - "Needs" (5:56)
Boo Williams - "The Place To Go" (6:29)
Mosaik Kollektif - "Plankton" (7:10)
Miguel Herrnandez - "Sea Roots" (6:13)
Frankie M - "Operating In The Red" (6:36)
Delano Smith - "Trapped Inside" (6:21)
Review: The third volume in the Unity series from Norm Talley's label Upstairs Asylum is another one packed with big hitters, many of who are US house mainstays. Jordan Fields opens up with 'It's An Interesting Thought', a heady number with cosmic pads twinkling up high. Black Eyes brings some rawness with the astral sounds of 'Get Down For The Hydro' and Chicago master Boo Williams offers more techno-leaning sounds than usual on 'The Place To Go.' The loop expert that is Delano Smith shows off those skills once more with his swirling and hypnotic 'Trapped Inside'. Miguel Herrnandez also stands out with his string-laced delight, 'Sea Roots'. An essential and authentic collection once again.
Review: The ever on point Upstairs Asylum present Unity Vol 1, featuring Jon Dixon, Darrin Abrams, Rick Wade, Mike Clark, Kai Alce, Kyle Hall, Eddie Fowlkes, & Santonio.
Review: First Word Records thrill us with a brand new album from present-day jazz legend Kaidi Tatham. Miles Away marks his sixth solo full-length for the award-winning London label, with ten fresh tracks all performed by the multi-instrumentalist himself. This is a masterclass in forward-thinking, genre-blurring electronic jazz; Rhodes keys, pianos, synths, strings, horns, and flutes flow floridly over roomy percussion and drum intricacies, representing Kaidi's unmistakable sound. From the smooth funk of 'Misty Garden' to the infectious 'Sweet Cherry Punch', the album redshifts a kaleidoscope of styles: bruk, boogie, soul, and even reggae-steppers on the closing 'Ku Deh'.
Review: The word 'legend' gets banded about rather a lot, but it is certainly applicable to West London scene stalwart Kaidi Tatham. Further confirmation of this elevated status can be found throughout "It's A World Before You", a staggeringly good album that marks the musician-producer's first solo set for some seven years. While rooted in the kind of warm, rich and life-affirming jazz-funk-fuelled broken beat workouts with which Tatham is most readily associated (and they're naturally superb), there's plenty of killer diversions dotted throughout. These include a couple of spacey, soul-flecked ambient rubs, a sublime collaboration with hip-hop/modern soul fusionists Children of Zeus, and a fine head-nodding hip-hop jam featuring rapper Uhmeer. In a word: essential.
Review: Theo Parrish's venerated Sound Signature label hits the notable milestone of 100 releases with this new double album, Skin Breaker, from Howard Thomas. It is one inspired by the artist's formative years spent watching sci-fi films and soaking up 80s beat tracks. Both of those aspects are folded into the record which is a hugely original take on house and techno. Tracks collide dusty drums with gurgling synths, deep space pads with caustic basslines and otherworldly energy that very much comes back from the future to keep you on your toes. In true Sound Signature style, this is an album that sounds like little else so is the perfect way to mark 100 releases.
Review: Rose Robinson's debut album as Tigerbalm, 2022's International Love Affair, was a genuinely glorious affair in which she wrapped indigenous instrumentation and all manner of global music influences around grooves rooted in cosmic disco, nu-disco, proto-house, Italo and Balearic beats. This palette of influences once again comes to the fore on this remixed version, which boasts some of her favourite artists rework tracks from the LP. It's all killer, no filler - as the old saying goes - with our picks including Session Victim''s percussive deep house fix of 'Cocktail D'Amore', Isaac Soto's devilishly dubbed-out interpretation of 'La Brisa', a hybrid jazz-funk/Balearic soul re-build of 'Cosmic Camel' by Mystic Jungle, and a predictably proto-house leaning vocal interpretation of 'Tokyo Business' by Andrew Meecham AKA The Emperor Machine.
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