Mutant Beat Dance – Let Me Go [HHYR019]

Fully Koded Chicagoians Traxx and Beau Wanzer team up for another Mutant Beat Dance release. Together they have produced arguably ‘the best 80s Chicago house record NOT made in the 80s. The Mutants call it Jakbeat, inspired by the early days of house music. ‘Let Me Go’ is as intense and rhythmically inclined as they come. Naughty Wood’s sparse vocals cry desperation, almost nearing insanity, which makes up for a pressure cooker like warehouse anthem. ‘Rottonfunk’ is another intense work out which has a killer groove and makes us wander off to the Promised Land (wherever that is).

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Mutant Beat Dance – Let Me Go [HHYR019]

Chicago Shags – The Family Album [MOS017]

CHICAGO SHAGS aka LEGOWELT - The Family Album

Brian ‘Orgue Electronique’ Schijf and Danny ‘Legowelt’ Wolfers return with their project Chicago Shags on the ever-excellent MOS Recordings. The four track EP starts with ‘Ponderosa’; a forward looking, cosmic surfing house cut wired with plenty of smooth electronics and pure jacking energy, before ‘Pancake Breakfast’ glistens and glints just as much with its firefly synth lines, gurgling baseline and sweet, pixelated melodies. ‘Firetruck Sunday’ is more dense and edgy, never resting in one place for more than a single beat, with chattery drums and claps offset by a rounded, smoothed but acidy bassline. Finally, ‘To The Westfield’ surges and soars through more sci-fi universes as a house groove busies itself below.

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Chicago Shags – The Family Album [MOS017]

R-A-G – Black Rain EP [MOSDEEP011]

RAG - Black Rain EP

MOS Deep presents Black Rain EP, the return to the label for R-A-G aka Aroy himself, G-String and Marco Spaventi. Opening with ‘Fog’ the deep vibe is set immediately. Crispy snares, a chugging groove and plenty of eerie sonics swirl around into something with a keen sense of foreboding. The titular track then gets all Chicago with its busy claps and nagging synth lines. The mood is a sombre one for those creepy back room sets and the analogue machinery used to make it gives a trademark warm and fuzzy feel to proceedings. The EP closes with a reprise of ‘Black Rain’. This beat-less rework deals in ambient synthscapes that drag you into their fold and never let you go.

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R-A-G – Black Rain EP [MOSDEEP011]

Echo 106 – Broken Hihat Machine [MATH060]

Swiss producer Echo 106  sees an EP with 4 outstanding tracks on Chicago’s Mathematics Recordings. The title track calls upon the spirits of Chicago’s jack past & is followed by “Copy Ins Del”, a deep acid filled cut.

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Echo 106 – Broken Hihat Machine [MATH060]