Owen Jay & Melchior Sultana - "Soul Expression" (7:35)
Hector Ram - "Morning Sun Vibes" (6:39)
Review: Short Attention has more than grabbed ours with its first two EPs and this third one keeps up that good early form. It's a heavy-hitting mix of pivotal house talents starting off with prolific Windy City player Boo Williams. The big man's 'Transformation' is a smooth and chord-laced house roller that has a more reflective vibe than his usual party-starting offerings. Atlanta don Kai Alce's 'Love Exists' is a heartfelt house romance then the long-time partnership of Owen Jay & Melchior Sultana douse us in star-gazing chords on 'Soul Expression' that leave you feeling refreshed. Hector Ram's 'Morning Sun Vibes' then uplifts with beautifully gentle piano chords.
Review: It's a sizzling seven up for Moiss Music here as they draw together four different artists to offer up one cut each for this new various artists collection. Boogietraxx goes heavy on the filter vibes on 'S N T' which is French touch disco-house of the highest order. Kellit's 'Pryscoks Sockin Socks' is all about sultry sax lines and loose-limbed disco house beats while C Da Afro gets heads up with the streaming sunshine synths of 'Don't Be Quiet.' Groovemasta shut down with the funky Afro-disco stylings of 'Gonna Make U Rock.'
Review: It's coming home, it's coming home - house music is coming home! A second instalment of the Groove Access: series Chicago Is Home offers us five fresh tracks from the windy city landing in a glorious cavalcade of razor edged snares and hypnotic jack house. Ed Nine & Kid Enigma's 'Bandleaders' opens side one in spectacular fashion with spoken mantras lying deep in the mix, distinctive phasing arpeggios, poking keyboard riffs and ringing cymbals. JSquare's 'Get Wicked' kicks with even more power, tribal rhythms bouncing of bleepy melodies, before 'Move' by Geto Mark rounds off the side with the strutting, beautifully brutal 'Move', a proper 3AM peak time pleaser. Steve Noah's 'The Hater' opens side two, a wily acid line worming its way across a raw, stripped down backing before exploding into serious gnarliness when you least expect it. AFTR's 'Undercover' rounds things off with another knuckle duster of a tune, leaving no doubt that Chicago is still the place to be when it comes to house.
Review: The CQQL label has always come at house music from a different perspective than most, and that's certainly true once more on this latest drop, not least because it comes on 7", which is not so often associated with this genre. It is K Wash who steps up here with guest AMIRSAYSNOTHING for a low slung, swaggering cut with bold analogue drums and plenty of hip hop attitude. The mumble rap bars add another layer while snaking leads bring some West Coast cool. After that opener comes 'Protect My Neck' which ups the tempo but keeps the production raw, stripped back and suggestive, with more intimate vocals and ticking hi-hats keeping time.
Review: Many years after the first instalment we are now treated to a second volume of the Culross Close project from K15, a one time Wild Oats graduate, artist, DJ, producer and deep thinker who mixes up house, hip hop and jazz. He assumes his usual alias for the opener 'Pulse' which dances on dusty drums with nagging melodies in the middle and plenty of swing. On the flip he becomes Culross Close for 'Dawn' which his less club ready and more expressive, with heart melting pianos and a real jumble of drums and perc that is brilliantly loose.
Review: Leipzig based Riotvan, run by Peter Invasion and Panthera Krause, welcomes Kalexis and Paulor for this collaborative four track that mines techno's deepest depths. 'Going Through The Void' is a moody and slow motion opener that rides on an undulating bassline with plenty of ambient pads for company. 'Energy' is more edgy, a stomper with fractured vocals and wonky synths that builds a darker mood. On the flipside there is the brilliantly unhinged and unusual melodies of 'Lashes' which sounds like a marching band on acid and 'Magnetic' closes down with haunting low ends and spooky pads.
Calypso Of House (Keytronics Ensemble original mix)
Review: After the success of Faze Action "In The Trees" Juno Records continue their 10th Anniversary series with the classic Balearic track "Calypso Of House". For this release Juno employ the skills of French deep house producer Julien Jabre who delivers a corking slice of peak time action - he said he had a lot of fun doing this remix and it definitely sounds like it. Also on the remix duties are Pearn & Bridges who had one of the biggest dance hits of last year with Bodyrox's "Yeah Yeah".
Sound's Good Inc - "Masen'hamba" (David Morales Red Zone mix) (6:07)
FNX Omar - "Ghomari" (feat Said Rifai) (6:36)
Re You & Soheil - "Mapawani" (main version) (7:33)
Review: After kicking off the year with the stellar MoBlack Gold Vol. 2 VA, Mimmo Falcone's label does it again with a crucial cluster of spiritually charged, Afro-rooted house jams from on-point producers. This 12" kicks off with Manoo's remix of KingSfiso, creating a delicate, melancholic trip out of 'Ilanga' with Mbuso Khoza's vocals front and centre. David Moralez gets seriously deep into the groove with his Red Zone mix of Sound's Good Inc's 'Masen'hamba'. FNX Omar offer up a brooding cut driven by organic tones on 'Ghomari', and Re You & Soheil bring a more electronic palette to bear on their own Afro-house throwdown, 'Mapawani'.
Review: More proper tacker makes it way to vinyl here courtesy of the blow label who enlist four more producers of this latest various artists EP. Kitchen Plug's 'Cheat Code' marries the best of tech, garage, dub and house into a kinetic bit of body music that oozes warm and lo-fi soul. CYMKA brings kaleidoscopic colour and squelchy acid to 'Sweet Peach' then it's all pout old school piano rave madness from Batenko on 'Inside Summer 21'. Last of all is the searing electro funk of Les Hauts with 'Passing Clouds', a blisteringly quick trip into another dimension with some rueful chord work. Sensational EP.
Review: Following on from his remixes of Robert James' LP Battle Of The Planets, Berlin-based Klix goes in for the kill with four examples of club-friendly grooves that are big on dancefloor dynamics but also boast a delicate sensitivity to melody that's often left behind when it comes to the minimal/tech genre. Check, for instance, the distinctly understated acid undertow to 'Just Tell Me', balanced beautifully with lush, New Order-esque pads, or the almost imperceptible trails of flute left across the landscape of 'Satisfaction'. Best of all is probably 'Squanchy Thoughts' featuring Shibafu No Baga, the vocoders and synth lines rendering it like a post-rave Kraftwerk.
Review: From Kon's forthcoming compilation on BBE entitled Kon & The Gang, this 12? sampler features two cuts taken from the LP and an exclusive remix from Boston producer and mix engineer Caserta, namely "Timeless" (Caserta mix)" a tasty serving of super deep and low slung disco goodness. A more functional edit for DJ use follows on "Timeless" (remix - Caserta mix)". On the flip Truccy (better known as Compost's Rainer Truby and Corrado Bucci) present "Closer", a gorgeous slo-mo house jam with a rolling groove fetauring all the good stuff: swirling Rhodes keys, groovy congas and hypnotic vox.
Review: "Fresia Magdalena is about activism" says Berlin based Peruvian Sofia Kourtesis. It comes after a breakout 2020 that saw her get props as far and wide as The Observer and Mixmag as well as playing in NME's Top 100 list. She builds on that success with another EP that marks a big step up and features her singing properly on her own music for the first time. The sound sources here owe a lot to Peru, with jingling bells and rumbling bass, rich melodies and also explicit field recordings collected from around the city of Lima. The grooves are rooted in house but explore the every edges of the genre in personal and absorbing ways.
Love & Devotion (feat Nimiwari - Kid Sublime Emo Bruk mix) (7:18)
Nereci (feat Han Litz - club mix) (7:25)
Nereci (feat Han Litz - Bruk mix) (7:37)
Nereci (feat Han Litz - acoustic mix) (6:08)
Review: DeLaChaud is the long-time home and record label of Krewcial, who is something of what you might call a young veteran in the game. Following impressive solo albums on PlayItAgainSam and UK's BBE in the early 2000's he is still going strong and this new one proves it. Whether sampling jazz greats, laying down funky bass and infectious drums there is no mistaking the soulful impact of these tunes. 'Love & Devotion' is a vocal gem that will raise anyone's spirits no matter which version you pick here and 'Nereci' brings a throwback house sound with a Latin vocal on the club mix. The Bruk mix is a lovely London broken beat and a final acoustic mix is a useful tool.
Weather Forecast (feat Prince Morella - Bluetrain Freestyle dub) (12:09)
Review: Mega-minimal ambient dub from Anton Kubikov, whose music emerges with all the push-pull of a locomotive piston. 'Weather Forecast' truly does sound like a meteorologists' crystal ball; synaptic chord pulses, and offhand bass licks, accompany the mix's overall drive. Prince Morella, an as yet unknown toaster, appears on the vocal version of the B with Bluetrain at the controls, delivering a freestyle that repeats the urgent mantra: 'rain is a gift'.
Cesar Merveille aka CSR - "So Bring It Here" (7:41)
Matheiu, Max Jacobson - "Five In One (Aint No Mountain)" (6:54)
Wareika - "VX" (8:38)
Review: Aterral Limited has taken things slowly to start with but that's fine because the quality of the label's first few releases has remained high. Carlo is behind this one and opens up the EP with 'Hungover', a tune that features Black Loops, who has previously released his own EP on the label. It's lithe, funky deep house with silky synth work and classic drums. 'Lelazo' (feat Emanuele Barilli) carries on down the same path but this time has a darker bassline and more garage tinged skip in the grooves. On the flip side things slow down to a sunset sound on 'Maison' (feat Hauke Freer) and 'Poops' Feat O is a tight, well swung bumper with jazzy keys. Robust and emotive house music from front to back, then.
Review: We're happy to report that the music on the 'Son of a Biscuit' EP from Kuwahara aka Mick Wilson and Scott Gray is every bit as colourfully eccentric as the title it bears. 'Ginger Cut' is dubbed up cloud of sound billowing over choppy hip-hop breaks, with an old skool female MC poking her head out of it to have her say every now and again. Rich Tea's edit of the track takes it into housier territory but, like one of those old Orb ambient singles singles on Wau Mr Modo, still gives plenty of work to the studio's echo chambers. 'Jaffa Quake' goes for snazzy, jazzy overtones and off kilter breaks, 'Kustard Cream' offers up reggae skank, again served up with plenty of sonic exotica, and there's even a more relaxed, Balearic bonus mix of 'Ginger Cut'. A thoroughly nutty record, but a genius one at the same time.
Review: GLBDOM Classic drops a second vinyl release here in the form of a various artists' selection of vintage house sounds. Manuold's 'Hey Sunshine' gets things underway with some back-to-the-90s kick drums and playful horns with uplifting vocal samples making for a sweet vibe. Evenn's 'Inner Dance' is a nice raw house bumper with vamping chords and some soulful Detroit chords in the background. Scart Lead then keeps things silky with the smooth pads and muted melodies of 'Everglades' and Esspee and Kid Only close out with two more ageless house gems that pair dance for clout with heartfelt soul.
Paul Rudder & Kresy - "Along With You" (Kresy Continuum mix) (6:06)
Paul Rudder - "Her Dream Road" (7:09)
Paul Rudder - "Her Dream Road" (Kresy Mellonized mix) (6:46)
Review: Exploited is one of those ever-present labels that have never made big headliners or had breakout anthems, but that's probably helped it stay relevant rather than getting chewed up and spat out by the hype cycle. Label head Shir Khan is back here to present a 36th Black Jukebox EP, with Paul Rudder & Kresy serving up the tunes. Their first collab is warm Euro-centric deep house which then gets remixed by Kresy into a 'Continuum mix.' On the flip side, Rudder goes it alone with another warm, well-designed and catchy house roller in the form of 'Her Dream Road'. This time, Kresy serves up a heady Mellonized mix to close out.
Review: The long-running Politics Of Dancing label returns with more dancefloor weaponry from a fine selection of artists who all explore distinctive takes on tech and minimal. Podjeb's 'Sexy MF' is a lithe, crisp tech cut with a libidinous vocal looped next to balmy pads. Kerouac's 'Poon Tang' is irresistibly fun - a pumping cut with funky bass notes and molten synths that cannot fail to get you locked in. Or24k's 'tO gO' is a more physical jam with old school scratching and rapped vocals, then 2Vilas cruises on a cool house groove, La Nena De Ibiza,' to shut down a characterful EP.
Review: Four artists with a taste for classic deep house infused with more than a touch of house line on the Silver Walker label's sixth release. Following releases on the likes of Local Talk, Balance, Traxx Underground, Mate, Quintessentials and upcoming projects on Nervous and NDATL, Shaka opens proceedings with a flurry of Hammond and plenty of exotic percussion, lie Alan Hawkshaw riffing with Underground Resistance. Glenn Davis (Wolf, Yore Records, Deeper Groove and Selections Records) delivers a deeper house workout on the A2 house track, the jazzy keyboard chords, fluttering flute and restless synths working real magic. One of the masterminds behind the Silver Walker label, Diego aka DFRA, comes on all perky with the saxes and soloing Rhodes, on the second side's opener, 'Nitewax'. Then we close with Damien aka Keymono (founder of several labels including Monocturne Records and Funkyshirts) laying on the handclaps of classic disco strings, the snippets of funk guitar and vibes the cherry on top.
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