The first record of Deetron’s new label finds him teaming up with Ripperton under their rarely seen Roots Panorama moniker.
deep house
Borrowed Identity – Feeling Blue EP [HOMETAPING019]
By all accounts Romanian producer Borrowed Identity is having a splendid 2014. Currently based in Berlin taking political refuge from his homeland, the producer has already racked up strong 12″ releases. This 12″ for the evergreen Hometaping is Killing Music label shows how diverse Borrowed Identity’s range can be, dipping into similar sample laden territory to MCDE with sublime results. It’s apparent from the off with “Feeling Blue” centred around a lovely chord refrain that hooks you as soon as it drops, whilst “Nation Under A Groove” nudges the tempo up a few notches before the mood eases back down with the pair of beatdown burners on the flip. Strong four track EP with some solid sample driven tracks. Effective and tasteful house music.
Midnightopera – Five [RHYTHM009]
Not the usual Bio Rhythm release… as far as they have any usual releases at all. Recently the label accidentally came across this lost treasure by Midnightopera (Workshop) and signed in at the spot. Produced in 2007, ‘Five’ is an epic 12 minute journey straight into downtempo/deephouse walhalla, making your sunday morning seem to last forever. The 2010 rework is delivered by bad boy Roger 23, diving into even deeper territories and adding some psychedelic elements to make it safely through the other side and back. Sunrise over Riegelsberg.
Bantam Lions – Recollections EP [SCN005]
Liverpool-based producer Bantam Lions returns with his third 12” for the Scenery Records label. Lead cut ”Recollections” is particularly good, delivering a deep and attractive fusion of fuzzy analogue warm, dreamy melodies and intoxicating chords. He ups the tempo further on ”Many Years Later”. Which layers dubbed-out chords and swirling textures over an energy-packed techno groove. The accompanying remixes are pretty tasty, too, with The Cyclist particularly impressing with his Detroit techno-goes-lo-fi interpretation of ”Recollections”. That said, the dreamy, new age-influenced downtempo take from Mood Hut regular Cloudface is pretty darn good, too.
Daniela La Luz – Counting Days [HOUSEWAX001LPS]
VA – Hamburg EP [FM12014]
New release on Frank Music featuring 4 crafty, oldschool House rooted tracks by Smallpeople, Suburb, Tilman Tausendfreund and Simon Ferdinand.
The Black Madonna – Stay [DINER002]
The Black Madonna tries a different approach on this debut for the recently launched Night Owl Diner label. You could certainly describe both tracks as “Balearic”, and there’s a real air of wide-eyed positivity about the tumbling melodies, swirling synth-strings and mid-80s pop production of head-nodding deep house cut “Stay”. It’s pretty darn tasty, all told. Almost as good is “Requiem”, which appears to be built around a loop lifted from Cherrelle and Alexander O’Neal’s “Saturday Love” (with, of course, additional synths and tuneful electronics).
Rick Wilhite – Vibes 2 [RHM010CD]
As a DJ and promoter Rick Wilhite has been holding it down for over twenty years. His ‘Vibes New & Rare music’ record store has been a main source for soulful electronic music in Detroit until its closure a few years back. The ‘Vibes New & Rare music’ compilation only features material that Rick Wilhite truly believes to represent the artists. After releasing Volume 1 in 2010, Wilhite now delivers the sequel, featuring pioneers and new talents alike from New York, Chicago and Detroit.
Ed & Jen – Love It Or Leave It [EDJ005]
It’s been three years since husband-and-wife team Jus’ Ed and Jenifa Mayanja released their collaborative debut album, Let’s Groove. Since then, both have been busy with solo projects, delivering a large volume of releases in their distinctive warm, melodious and loose deep house style. Love It Or Leave It, then, is something of a rare treat for those who dig their wholeheartedly positive and spontaneous take on deep house. It’s perhaps a little breezier than either producer’s solo work, with less immersive pads (though they are present, particularly on the chiming “Love Bubbles Change”). It’s still deep, though, with cascading melodies, picturesque chords and occasional soul-flecked vocals riding a range of deep, sinewy house grooves.
DJ QU – Raw 7 [SMR014]
DJ Qu – aka New York-based producer Ramon Lisandro Quezada – has been doing his thing since the mid-2000s, delivering spacey deep house cuts. There’s more stargazing fare to be found on his latest EP on Strength Music. “Raw 7” has a real sci-fi feel, with alien synths melodies and outer-space stabs riding a powerful, cymbal-driven rhythm. “Untitled (High Life)” is a little more relaxed, with picturesque electronic melodies complimenting a dense, afro-influenced house groove. It’s floor-friendly enough, but positive enough for home listening, too. Finally, “Soma” is thrillingly deep, transporting listeners to the far reaches of the galaxy via endless chords and shuffling percussion.
VA – NDATL Special Edition 2014 [NDATLSE14]
NDATL Muzik with a Special Edition featuring 3 tracks by Kai Alce, Mike Huckaby and Jay Daniel.
Joey Anderson @ Dekmantel Festival 01.08.2014
The Rhythm Odyssey & Dr Dunks – Broken Drums / Super Chips [CHANNEL047]
After ‘Saffron’ and ‘Fox’ stormed the clubs last year Eric Duncan and Dean Meredith unleash another double headed monster that will detonate the dancefloor.
RA.428 Steve Rachmad vs Sterac
Cuisine Dub – Udacha 9 [UDACHA009]
Having previously impressed with an eccentric chunk of lo-fi, sun-kissed, house-not-house on the Udacha 6 EP, Croatian producer Cuisine Dub has been offered the chance to showcase his unique take on electronic music with an EP all of his own. It would be easy to describe his warm blends of traditional instrumentation, off-kilter house rhythms and toasty textures as “Balearic”, though that really doesn’t do them justice. There’s a pleasing eccentricity to the hypnotic grooves and incessant keys of “Track 3”, while “Track 4” sounds like psychedelic dub given the deep house treatment (without really sounding all that much like your average deep house track). The EP’s more downtempo moments, including the Bob James-goes-minimal flex of “Track 5”, are also superb.
John Daly LIVE @ Chalet (Berlin) 13.06.2014
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…
