John Daly LIVE @ Chalet (Berlin) 13.06.2014
deep house
Haron – Optics [TAPE006]
Equally inspiring follow up to Harons debut on Tape Records, this one featuring a brilliant remix by Gifted & Blessed.
Christopher Rau – Lost in Brooklyn [THEMA039]
”A syncopated pattern of stabbed chords remains the benchmark of the track, anchoring a groove that initially builds using off-kilter, intentionally grating background noise. As resonators get turned up and tensions mount, the moment when the funky, hi-hat led percussion finally arrives around the 2:20 mark is met with the kind of exuberant release that dancefloor-heaven is rooted in. Lost In Brooklyn continues to ebb and flow throughout its remainder, with peaks and troughs that power through until the end and renders it more than a bit of DJ weapon. Besides Rau, Norm Talley is also back on Thema and with a kind of focused fury that only he can sustain. He infuses Raus upbeat production with his Motor City hypnotic soul and reworks it for a deeper, later hour. The motif that makes up the A-side is eschewed in favor of subdued pads, skittering cosmic washes drenched in delay, and driving drums that straddle the line between house and techno. The contrast between each side of this vinyl plays off the other nicely, but they both retain the sophisticated charisma that ties everything on Thema together.”
VA – Ended Up At The Ambassade [ENS002]
After their debut release by Xosar, the Belgian club night imprint ”Ensemble” returns with a 12” by ”de Ambassade”, a collective term for ambassadors Ben Sun, Xan Xoda, Raw Sketches and Sisterhood. Four strong house tracks.
Kettenkarussell – Easy Listening [GLGLP004]
In times where a rave feels pretty much like a funfair, the chairoplane is still the nicest ride. Thinking of Kettenkarussell some might remember one of those gathered moments in a low summer night under the clear sky when things made sense for a while. But those memories fade away quite fast or seem really strange a few years later on youtube. So what is it that is left behind? After 10 years of collaboration the couple decided to do an album that might challenge the comfort zone of those who try to keep up that easy living. It’s a record full of holes. And still this is what keeps them together. In pain we trust… and yes i believe you and me will make love forever…
Anthony Nicholson – Four LP [DAS006]
Anthony’s fourth album is simply called ‘Four’ and features 12 masterpieces of deephouse music. Every track is a masterful lesson in the art of this genre. They are beautiful and originally composed, including elements of jazz, garage, disco, RnB and classic house. Anthony Nicholson clearly shows that he is gifted with an amazing imagination and also a proper knowledge of musicality.
Brian Harden – Tour De Chi [SIS024]
Since the label’s inception, Sistrum has kept an ear to the future while always keeping its roots firmly planted in the rich musical heritage of early house and techno – raw, real & unfathomably deep. In keeping with this ethos, Sistrum proudly presents a true Chicago original, Mr. Brian Harden. Three classic, late ‘90s cuts are brought together for a new generation of music lovers to enjoy, never before available as a 12” release.
Maayan Nidam / Laverne Radix – Split EP [PERLON101]
Maayan Nidam teams up with her alter ego Laverne Radix and delivers a 4-track split 12”, including a remix by mister Boo Williams.
Die Roh & Okee Ru – Beam Boom Bum EP [MLE004]
3 craggy dancefloor cuts of disco infected technoid shuffled 808 beats and quirky samples. Lucretio (Restoration/Machines State) on remix duty has delivered a methane-fuelled remix of ”Non la Rai”, adding illicit 90s happiness to the original beats. A remix that could easily cross-refer to his hard-to-find tunes on Warm Sounds.
Sound Source – Naked Themes EP [EVRE002]
Four productions by NJ deep house legend Wayne Gardiner under his less known alias Sound Source. Written and recorded between ’91 and ’92, now remastered and soon to be repressed in one E.P.
Harvey Sutherland – Edges EP [EVR015]
Melbourne synthesist Harvey Sutherland brings four stripped-back rhythm tracks to Echovolt Records for his debut 12″. Features a long edit of ‘Q3’ from last years limited cassette release, plus three new original cuts. Developed and refined from Sutherlands improvised live show, the ‘Edges E.P.’ glides between the sparse melodic funk on Sunday Flower to the tightly-wound house shuffle of Speaking Your Language. The title track rounds out the B-side – a long rollicking hardware jam, all Juno brass and marching band snares.
Heart 2 Heart – Shigan Remixes [BMUK010]
Roberto Bosco comes to Balance with an exclusive project, “Introspective”, engaging with more tech-house inspired sounds than any of his previous releases.
Julius Steinhoff – Flocking Behaviour [SMALLVILLELP009]
Half of the dynamic duo Smallpeople, founder and one of the steersmen behind Hamburgs Smallville empire as well as a producer and DJ in his own right, Steinhoff’s debut album comes on his own label. A romantic concept of house music that is at times utopian, the album gathers eight tracks that evoke late nights, hazy mornings and walks on thin air.
Dona – Brown [POINTS003]
The third release on Points with a great deep tech/house package. Two originals by Dona and remixes by Patrice Scott and Vakula.
Fred P / Kai Alce – Finale Sessions Select Vol.1 [FSS001]
Finale Sessions presents a new series of releases from the vault on 10″ format. This first release pairs two bonafide legends in the shape of Fred P and Kai Alce, both known for their incredibly accomplished takes on house. Fred P’s “Ram” is a deep excursion into pulsing chords and delicate atmosphere, while Kai Alce’s “Scene 1” is a raw, acidic affair for peak time sets – both are essential cuts.
VA – Combo EP [OJO009]
Rick Wade, K.Alexi, Fantasna and Jorge C signing in for this 9th release for the South American Ojodeapolo label. A fine Various Artists compilation titled Combo EP. A-side begins with Jorge C. “Baile” a set of playful chords , seductive machine drums plus percussions,voices & whispers and surrounding baselines. Followed by “Sun On My Face” by the legendary Chicago star K Alexi Shelby consisting on a mysterious, hypnotic and sensual refreshing summer hit. B-side continues with the one and only Rick Wade, who delivers a tremendous track called “Darling Your Love” transporting us to his own sound-signature developed before by his own imprint Harmony Park label. Last track is “Faraon”, a real deep-acid-anthem that comes by the hand of the young promise Sebastian Mella aka. Fantasna, one of the best kept secrets from Santiago de Chile.
Looper – First [L001]
Ksoul & Muteoscillator @ Bastion – Militant Soul, Batofar (Paris) 30.04.2014
Erdbeerschnitzel – The Ample Waters [DSR-H8]
Hot on the heels of his last outing for the Delsin house series comes this, another essential new offering from German producer Erdbeerschnitzel. The title track ‘The Ample Waters’ is a joyous and lively concoction that fuses curious melodies with busy little piano stabs and more trilling, sunny melodies. It’s busy house for bustling dancefloors and next up, ‘Never Tilt’ slows things down with jumbled, woody percussion falling over lazy drums and stretched, yawning synth smears. Colourful and effervescent, it’s a track that makes you want to shake your limbs. ‘With Level Hopes’ is again characterised by melodic colour, with pixelated patterns stretched over a funky, gooey bassline and clacking percussion. There’s a beautifully DIY feel to the loosely assembled track that gives it a life all of its own before closer ‘Yet Unfulfilled’ pairs slo-mo beats with neo-soul vocal snippets, lazy and stoned summer chords. It’s the most emotive of the lot, but all four tracks are truly feel good jams that have come just in time for some serious summer action.
Trinidadian Deep – Ep III [NERO026T]
Neroli is back with the third contribution from Trinidadian Deep to the label, continuing to follow the way of the previous two: deep spiritual heartfelt tracks.
The Hipodrome Of Music 