Tags: Detroit House

Review: Given the brilliantly simple concept behind this fine compilation - contemporary Detroit producers remix Funkadelic - we're rather surprised nobody's done it before. With 17 varied re-rubs stretched across three slabs of wax, there's naturally plenty to enjoy. Highlights come thick and fast, from the deep house/P-funk fusion of Alton Miller's take on "Get Your Ass Off and Jam" and Andres' loose, hip-hop influenced revision of "Music For My Mother", to the thrusting loops and heady late night hypnotism of Anthony Shake Shakir and T-Dancer's version of "Standing on the Verge". While many of the versions stay relatively faithful to the original, the more "out-there" interpretations - see BMG's outer-space ambient dub of "Maggot Brain" and Moodymann's epic revision of "Cosmic Slop" - are also consistently impressive.

Review: Andres, or DJ Dez, is a beat-maker extraordinaire. His Cuban heritage and background as a hip-hop DJ for Slum Village mean that he comes at house music from a slightly different perspective than most. Couple that with a vast record collection and next-level ear for samples and he rarely turns out a dud tune. Enter Address V, his latest album on Moodymann's Mahogany label and another masterful one that straddles moods and grooves with effortless ease and rare style. There are crisp house kickers like 'Cybermate,' heavyweight funk beatdowns like 'Funky 2Step' and slouchy and low-slung joints like 'Detoxfromtheworld' amongst dirty hip-hop jams and so much more. Another timeless album from a Motor City great.

Review: Detroit's John Beltran can do no wrong if you ask us, and what he does do is always famously varied, from sound design for TV to melodic techno excellence via ambient beauty. Here for MotorCity Wine he revisits his Back To Bahia series with a third volume that finds him flexing his Afro-Brazilian deep house chops. The 7" opens up with the jazzy boogie of Lsaura' which is steeped in Minneapolis funk and will get cultured dancefloors in a spin. 'As The Sunsets' that appears on the flip and is a superbly emotive sound with wispy late night melodies and glowing harmonies and shuffling Latin grooves. Essential.

Review: Get ready for a rush-inducing dose of proper soulful vocal house from the mighty Dames Brown. On this record for Defected, Detroit's foremost trio of Athena Johnson, Lisa Cunningham and Teresa Marbury linked up with the mighty Amp Fiddler and Andres for a rip through house music as real as it gets. The original 12" mix of 'What Would You Do?' is hard to beat for raw, heavy-hitting groove and production, but there are some choice remixes included here for those who have different needs, whether it's the bouncy jazz funk of Two Soul Fusion's version or the smoother sound of Folamour creating a sleek disco house variation for the peak time crowd.

Review: Now that Heist Recordings is 10 years old, label bosses Dam Swindle have decided the time is right to launch a new series of EPs featuring big tunes and sought-after classics from the imprint's archive. Fittingly, volume one begins with the track that opened the label's debut release - the classic US deep house style bounce of Dam Swindle's 'The Breakup' - before we're offered the chance to savour the organ-rich, hands-in-the-air positivity of Scan 7's brilliant 'The Best Is Yet To Come'. Over on the B-side, Fouk's 'Kill Frenzy' is a dusty, jazz-sampling deep house treat, Demuir's 'Werq Feel Gruv Vogue' is a twinkling, loop-based dancefloor delight, and Adriano's 'Me & You & Her' is a sun-splashed, disco-flecked peak-time treat.

Review: Given the brilliantly simple concept behind this fine compilation - contemporary Detroit producers remix Funkadelic - we're rather surprised nobody's done it before. With 17 varied re-rubs stretched across two hugely entertaining CDs, there's plenty to enjoy. Highlights come thick and fast, from the deep house/P-funk fusion of Alton Miller's take on "Get Your Ass Off and Jam" and Andres' loose, hip-hop influenced revision of "Music For My Mother", to the thrusting loops and heady late night hypnotism of Anthony Shake Shakir and T-Dancer's version of "Standing on the Verge". While many of the versions stay relatively faithful to the original, the more "out-there" interpretations - see BMG's outer-space ambient dub of "Maggot Brain" and Moodymann's epic revision of "Cosmic Slop" - are also consistently impressive.

Review: When it comes to gospel-powered 21st century dance music, Detroit trio Dames Brown have been involved in many of the most memorable records - not least Sophie Lloyd anthem 'Calling Out' and Horse Meat Disco hook-up 'Message To The People'. Here they join forces with fellow Motor City musician Waajeed for another arms-aloft classic in the making. In its original form, 'Glory' blurs the boundaries between gospel disco and gospel house, with the trio's powerful vocals rising rubbery bass guitar, loose-limbed beats and riotous organ licks aplenty. It comes accompanied by two fine remixes: a stomping, piano riff-powered gospel house take from Rob and Lyric Hood's Floorplan project, and a stomping, thickset gospel disco 'dancing club dub' courtesy of Kelly G.

Review: If anything, the hugely prolific Motor City mainstay that is Omar S seems to be getting even more prolific as time goes on. His vast catalogue grows once more here with Fun House, which finds Alister Fawnwoda exploring a wide range of dance music styles alongside guests such as FXHE regular John F.M., plus Mitchell Yoshida, Super Cool Wired, Troi Alexis, Tyesha Blount and more, with all the production, lyrics and mixing taken care of by Omar S himself. The tracks range from seductive deep house to edgy mechanical techno, dubbed out downbeat joints and smooth electronic Detroit soul. It is yet another crucial chapter in the FXHE and Omar S story.

Review: Detroit Stories is, first and foremost, the name of a recent social experiment in Motor City, USA. Largely broadcast on social media like Instagram, it consists of interviews with OG residents and immigrants from way back - the ones who've lived through the city's many ups and downs - we hear got stories of good times, hard work, and opportunities, but also struggles, violence, and social upheavals, all of which helped shaped Detroit's rise and slow fall. Secondly but not least, 'Detroit Stories' is also the name of Daughters And Sons' (Luca Fronza's) latest EP, which plunges the sampleable depths of these interviews to effuse a deep and inexorable sense of the city's cultural significance, not only as the heartland of Fordism (the dominant ideology in whose shadow even humble music reviewers like ourselves live), but also the place, where, without coincidence, techno originated. Coming with a remix by Prins Thomas, star track 'Gipsy' is especially well-suited to the city's obverse mood, combining the glitz of industrial opportunism, a Detroit-endemic Christian religiosity, and a nomadic core theme, all via ploddingly militant beats and a twinging lead synth whistle.

Review: The young Soul Touch Productions label knocks it out of the park once more with this new 12" featuring Motor City royals at the top of their game. Terrence Parker kicks off with the beautifully uplifting 'Tonight We Luv' with its streaming and soulful melodies and nice smooth drum loops. Drummer B then steps up with the mad piano action and slamming house of 'In My Zone' (feat Javonntte) and last of all, the man so often left out of the early history of Detroit's underground, Eddie Fowlkes, comes through with a spine-tingling vocal deep house delight in the form of 'Hold Me Down'.

Review: Drivetrain and Melodymann hail from Detroit and Belgium respectively and together the've cooked up an incredibly affecting quad of tunes which we now hear pressed to wax via Soiree. An overarching homage to the classically 'slapdash' or lackadaisical feel of Chicago and Detroit house abounds, as the likes of 'Music Got Me' and 'Keep It Movin' work in the very same janky shuffles that would hear the latter ends of those genres bleed into US garage and come with palette-cleansing aperitifs in the form of vocal samples from various soul sources. Keep it coming.

Review: Brooklyn's toucan sounds has snapped up the signature of Dee Diggs for her long-awaited debut single and it does not disappoint. 'Toss It' is, like the artist herself, inspired by the Black, queer roots of house music and it come with lashings of disco energy, smoky vocals and glossy chords as well as a catchy pop riff that emplores you to set yourself free. A fine remix comes from Detroit's Ladymonix who makes things dark, sweaty and steamy and last of all is a Matt FX Glitz N Glam mix to make this a brilliant package.

Review: The enigmatic Hill returns to Hardrock Striker's Skylax imprint with an energetic five-tracker packed full of disco house goodness. Riviera Meets Detroit features the infectiously loopy French Touch vibes of 'Land Of Funk', the sexy and lo-slung Balearic bliss of 'Summer Holidays In Rimini' and over on the flip there's the pure deepness of 'Away' featuring the one-and-only Javonntte. Featured are two versions; the wonderfully evocative Spacey Groove mix followed by the more upbeat Classic mix.

Review: German house mainstay Oliver Dollar knows a thing or two about crafting smooth and seductive sounds, and that's just what he does here for Matt Edwards's Rekids. He opens up this 12" with 'Before You' (with ADMIN - feat Apropos) and layers up the summery beats with spine tinging diva vocals and warming coos that will get the good times going. 'Portamento Track' finds him link with Austin Ato for another feel good and upbeat house cut that is effortlessly cool and sunny. The flip-side features a Brian Page remix of 'Strings 4 Life' that soars though clear blue skies on hip-swinging beats.