‘Let Them Know’ is the debut EP by Bobby Dreams, marking the inaugural release of All Nice Records. This record is a groundbreaking introduction to the label’s ethos, characterized by a raw, distorted, and authentically underground sound, paying homage to the gritty energy of Chicago’s underground house scene.
The second part of Boo Williams’ double release on Sushitech’s sub label Pariter, ‘Day Rise’, is definitely more upbeat of the two but it’s a subtle distinction – it’s certainly not full of 4AM bangers designed to keep you awake until the busses start running again. ‘Talley Up’ is a very straight forward affair, circling around a two note synth riff and gradually building percussion. ‘The Take Over’ is similarly spritely, another builder with crashing cymbals, jazzy chords and drum machine tumbles steadily building an insurmountable wall of funkiness. Breezy, bumping closer ‘Teleport’ completes the set, meaning three ultra-handy, raw but sophisticated tunes that house and techno DJs alike will find slipping into their sets with a natural ease.
Chicago second generation house hero Boo Williams joining the roster with a two-part release for Sushitech’s sub label Pariter. The first part, ‘Night Fall’, features three tracks, all of which fit the mold of early evening classics. ‘Acid Matrix’ has an early Detroit feel to its raw machine handclap snares and panther-like, stalking bassline, while ‘Deep Tech’ might be geographically closer to late 80s, early 90s Yorkshire, a compulsive funkiness emerging from its bleepcentric soundscape. ‘Service Chamber’ is sleeker and more mellow, telephone dial tones spiralling off into the ether while tinkling, xylophone-sounded keys play hypnotically. Choice, quality material that will help any DJ to subtly pick the pace up as the sun falls.
DirtybLends edition is another 3 track release combining 3 different ideas together from heavy Jakbeat to old school slower style tracks of the label: Chicago Underground to early 80s proto-house instrumentals of Boyd Jarvis. The A siDe kicKz oFF wit the return of kincaid presenting a daRk n meNaciNg composition played n created wit bLood n sweat behind the vintage music boxes to come with this 12 minute riPPer of beauty entitled: Circuit Collapse. The 1st production on the B-side comes from new member of The Klan of The Beatheadz: Cliff Solomon on this production the caT honors the timeless work of the originator Boyd Jarvis & Timmy Regisford from 1985 on next plateau. Developing drum and bassline ideas with elevated drama and deepest respect for the true pioneers of the underground. The final tune on Dirtyblends 11 on the B side is a collaboration from The Jak and Lex Lathan recorded at Nation HQ presenting their idea to keep the spirit of the early releases on Chicago Underground that were produced more slower in style entitled: The CaLL {oN tHe EdgE}
DirtybLends edition 10 is a Chicago slab of ruff business. The A-side comes from new member of The Klan of The Beatheadz, Grizzly Knuckles with ‘Caviar’ an influential continuation concept from the early days of trax records for 1 of the nastiest productions to come from The Sensuous Man & Woman Goes Disco laying on top of a drum machine rhythm that gets to the heart of the cut and the message. The B-side comes from the leader of The Klan of The Beatheadz: The Jak himself re-creating the drum rhythm of Jesse Saunders with his Kpr machine from scratch, then applying influential sounds from his keyboard to sound like DJ Rush from his proto release on relief records by creating a new blueprint for Jakbeat CHICAGO style of slam dance and mosh pit chaos that happened at The Reactor or Medusa’s (for those who remember)
L.I.E.S. boss, Ron Morelli follows up his acclaimed “Heart Stopper” LP with a new six track mini LP. The six tracks on “Rhythm Master” focus on a departure from the more song based structures of “Heart Stopper,” presenting a series of raw “old style” beat tracks for the DJs to use and abuse as they see fit, although these tracks are not as cut and dry as the title may imply. Check the complex, jacking, drum programming of the Fingers inspired “Loose Screw” or absolute melodic deep house mastery on the closing track “Escapes.” and the late nite mix show drama of “Disco Gridlock” with its monstrous reverb drenched kick opening the b-side. All of these standing on their own and all of them displaying Morelli’s versatility as a producer in his ability to pinpoint and execute the many styles that made djs what they were back in the days.
NYC’s Sweater on Polo delivers a hammering six track mini LP for L.I.E.S. indebted to the sounds of early-90s psychedelic Chicago house, names like Gherkin and Pierre come to mind over this release but the young producer tastefully and effectively puts his own vision to the forefront with this record. In the misguided world of modern dance music production, Sweater on Polo, throws all trends aside and sticking to the bare essentials…letting the 808s,303s,727s do the job and making this one of the most crucial modern House records to come out of New York City in the last 10 years.
DirtybLends edition 9 is a Deep Concentration release…if you’ve been really paying close attention Deep Concentration just dropped on LA Club Resource for their 6 track homage ep even though the text reads for the artists as The Kid n Cliff, put 1 & 1 together.
the A-side of ‘Don’t B Alarmed’ is truly definitive!! the musical journey speaks volumes..the B-side is an instant BEATDOWN with ‘Heavy Thump {beat dat shyt}’ that is focused entirely on a CHICAGO style of GUTS, pianos and damage!!
dirtybLends edition 8 is a 3 track INFERNO-SMACKDOWN combining 3 different ideas of new age/oLd scHooL Jakbeat inspired from a significant hero in the Chicago Underground scene of the early nineties dropping crucial releases on record labels: Saber, Dancemania and Relief.
The Falcon kicks the A-side into madness with ‘Sound The Alarm’ made 2 Jak 4 Crazies that’s completely bezerk n twisted!!
B1 introduces this nU cOhort to the label on this release comes from Grizzly Knuckles (a thuggish menace) bringing his weapon of choice musically in a hypnotic spell of mental riddims wit ‘Mad Bell’
this is chicago pit-tripping for those who are aware!
B2 brings The Jak as the final nail in the coffin to complete this 12 inch with ‘Aftermath’ that is for those who have any idea of SLaM dance body blows..this is that level of crazy!
Chiwax presents another outstanding release by Boo Williams. “Tribute To Chicago” is Boo’s hommage to the Capital City of House Music, their artists and his hometown.
Raw Chicago flavored house track from Tony Price. 14 minutes of stone cold house music spread out over several tracks and interludes.
After releasing heavyweights like Patrice Scott and Dego, Forbidden Dance Records continues its story with a new release from Chicago don Specter with a 4-track EP.
Three tracks that were included as bonus tracks on the Gherkin Jerks compilation CD from a few years ago are now up for their release on vinyl. All originate from the same Gherkin sessions as Mr. Heard’s two outstanding late 80’s EP’s but were never released as such. The moniker showed a different side to his sonic pallet, and would innovate the acid sound to great FX, influencing a great many of artists in the decades that followed. Psychotic Fantasy eventually made its way to the Dance 2000 Pt. 2 album, while the original full take of Ecstasy and Reznaytor never saw the light of the day. Now for the first time on wax and still sounding as futuristic as ever!
Before British house and techno found its’ distinctive groove at the turn of the 1990s, one act led the way: Bang The Party, a trio who emerged from London’s vibrant underground party scene in the mid 1980s and proved, beyond any doubt, that UK producers could make music every bit as magical as the pioneering productions put forward by their counterparts in Chicago, Detroit and New York. By the time long-running DJs and party promoters Kid Batchelor and Leslie Lawrence joined forces with trained engineer Keith Franklin at legendary North-West London reggae studio Addis Ababa in 1987, they’d spent years as DIY dance music activists in Britain’s capital city. They channelled these experiences and their love of imported house and techno sounds into a new project, Bang The Party. The latest Rush Hour Reissue Series release offers a snapshot of some of the numerous gems nestled in the Bang The Party catalogue, delivering a much-deserved celebration of one of Britain’s most significant early acid house collectives. It features four fully remastered cuts recorded and released between 1987 and 1990 – on-point and far-sighted club workouts that sound as fresh and timeless now as they did when Britain was sweltering under its infamous ‘second summer of love’.
The Italian producer Simoncino is back on Skylax Records. You already know his ability to create sounds that are deeply imbued with the Chicago sound, you sometimes might think you ‘re hearing some lost gems from the great Armando. In short, no need to add more, this item is essential for any normally constituted dj. The release comes with a remix featuring the great Larry Heard aka Mr Fingers.
‘The Moon Dance’ Mark’s the come back of one of Chi Towns most innovative and iconic figures to Apnea Records. Jamal Moss (Hieroglyphic Being) sound’s were first released on Apnea in 2007. Now, in 2023, he’s back with this double 12” album flooded with synth jazz and cosmic acid explorations in his signature and irreverent style.
Nick Anthony Simoncino’s HotMix Records presents Obscure Underground Dreams Vol. VIII, a collection of 14 obscure underground house gems.
The Hipodrome Of Music 