Skylax Records brings for the 33rd release the Milanese house producer Fabio Monesi. Fabio opens the EP with “Duke mama”, a proper house anthem complete with a set of neat vocals, a shuffling workout of hi-hats, the inevitable snare and an old-school bass line which bounces from wall to wall. He closes the A side with “Millionhands” a similarly reflective house number for when things turn seriously deep Monesi’s rugged low end bumper.
Get Slow is back with its 3rd release. Christian Malloni delivers his best work to date for his Get Slow debut, outstanding sampling techniques building his fresh and cutting edge vision of contemporary underground club music.
This bumper 3×12″ release sees Joe Babylon’s Roundabout Sounds imprint enlisting the help of respected Detroit house artist Rick Wilhite to curate a compilation of unreleased house tracks from like-minded contemporaries under the appropriately titled Connecting The Compass. Highlights out of the 11 track compilation, which includes the likes of Theo Parrish, Baaz and Sean Tate are numerous, but there are several standout moments; Karizma’s “I Think” lays tracky breakbeats over a sonorous synth melody, Marcellus Pittman’s “Wolf & Moonbeams” pairs otherworldly synths and an improvised analogue melody with a low-slung bass led groove, and Norm Talley’s “Track From The East” is a devastingly simple combination of driving claps and pitched organ chords.
Paying homage to the beloved underground, a prime collective of neo-electronic architects spawn a quintessential four track vanguard. “The Greatest” by Drivetrain begins gritty and minimal, blossoming into an orchestration of vocal samples fused with melodic pads and acid bleeps. CloudMaster Weed utilizes the vocal stylings of Goddess Stephanie on the raw and sultry “Sweet & Delicious.” Rennie Foster makes a strong return to Soiree with “Low Boxing” – an amalgamation of silky vocal samples dropping amidst heavy syncopated acid. Lush pads provide the final polishing. J.Garcia’s “Lost” serves a commanding conclusion. The throbbing rhythm drives alluring female vocal samples thru an infectious late night sizzler.
Anthony Naples adds The Trilogy Tapes to his growing impressive discography with the superb El Portal EP. A true statement and this is impressive stuff; doling out raw abstract deep house that threatens to swell over on the title track, while “Pueblo” provides a rough downtempo rhythm whose scrappy hi-hats come laden with funk and a jazzy piano refrain. On the flip, “Busy Signal” provides house track whose sweet chords are counterbalanced by a particularly driving rhythm.
Northern Irish garage/house duo South West Seven (Ric McClelland and Sean Grieve) make a guest appearance for NYC’s On The Prowl, with remixes by Giorgio Luceri and Club Silencio. “If You Want” gets things moving with a deep house style layered with a big upfront bassline and super lush pads that are straight outta Detroit! Built to please big rooms in the early morning. A2 has Club Silencio showing his remix finesse by adding some organ key stabs in the “Gypsey Women” territory. Proper early 90’s house vibes but still maintaining a modern edge. “Move Back” shifts the mood toward a more disco feel with balaeric style guitars and laid back and groovey bassline. On the remix Luceri adds his music touch while keeping things driving with steady snare fills and old school drums.
This emotional two-track 12”on New Jersey Records showcases Chris Burns’ varied influences and strong songwriting abilities. I.Y.E., co-written and sung by Denise Henderson, is a peak-hour track that draws upon Burns’ passion for powerful, NY-inspired vocal house. Burns has created a tough, grooving backdrop that highlights Henderson’s incredible ability to juxtapose subdued and expressive vocal deliveries. “E-Mo Systems” takes a more melancholic approac. Swollen bass textures and ambient melodies are punctuated by a minor key chord progression that resolves into a sublime climax.
The label arm of booking agency Vibes & Pepper have come through with something a bit special for their latest release, with a collection of tracks from the archives of UK house producers Synchrojack.
Udacha comes with the fifth release, featuring four warm & forward thinking deephouse tracks by Alex Danilov, Brother G & Yuri Shulgin, A5, Kurvenschreiber and Trueman.
Two dubs of Matt Tolfrey’s ‘Distant Story’ taken from his brilliant ‘Word Of Mouth’ album courtesy of Larry Heard. These intergalactic slices of effortless dub-tastic beauty are truly mesmeric. Larry Heard has created two beguiling takes on Matt original track.
Hailing from Melbourne, Mike Steva with his debut release on Yoruba. Mike brings forth an ep of three of the deepest grooves. The opening track “New Beginning” is a drum infused floor filler, whereas “Moment In Time” features the lovely voice of seasoned vocalist George Levin hinted with flowing electric pianos, rolling bass lines and percussive rhythms creating a modern day soulful classic. We complete the package with “Chiko”, A battle of piano stabs, percussion and a driving kick drum makes this a nice addition.
Bristol-based producer Borai comes with his first solo work via Tasteful Nudes – a brand new label from Chicago.
The second in this series of collaborations focusing on live improvised hardware jams, again from Bookworms and Steve Summers..cool and heady stuff once again.
‘Ladies and gentlemen, we are going through an area of turbulence, we ask all passengers to remain seated, with your seatbelts fastened…’ Anyone who’s ever experienced the treacherous descent to Cagliari airport will totally understand Renato Figoli’s fear of flying, but in contrast to the loudspeaker announcement that introduces Funkoholic, the Sardinian producer’s album is anything but turbulent – the smoothest of takeoffs, superb in-flight entertainment and controlled touchdown make it an early contender for one of 2013’s most rewarding listens. Funkoholic allowings Renato the scope to fully realize his potential while setting out a musical doctrine that merges deep techno, funk, dub, jazz and ambience in a truly idiosyncratic manner. The album consists of nine tracks, each linked by elegantly crafted ambient transitions that leave the listener in a state of suspended animation. This constant alternation between inner space and outer space is one of the album’s defining features, balancing style and content in equal measures.
Split 12” on Mahogani Music featuring two of Detroit’s hidden gems: Paul Hill and Nikki O aka Sky Covington, a talented vocalist who has shared the stage with many of Detroit’s known jazz musicians and has sang vocals on past KDJ works.
Hoya:Hoya welcomes the multi-talented Tadd Mullinix with his JTC alias. This time round, on ‘Park Days’, he flexes a house side that’s not been seen too often in his career of 13 years. Whether the driving groove of South Brooks, the late night drum machine jam of Argo, Creal’s ever evolving scatter, or the delicate Gallup, ‘Park Days’ is one of those records where everyone has a different favourite.
Austrian label Praterei kick off 2013 with a various artists EP. Mysterious jack lovers Snuff Crew take the lead with an unsurprisingly old school flavored slice of house. Raw and unpolished, classic hi hats and sturdy kicks set the tone beneath colorful stabs and increasingly wild percussion. 7 Citizens ́s ‘Perse’ is darker and deeper, a nagging hook snakes about menacingly as a starry night sky of melodies reveals itself above. Esteemed Chi Town man Chicago Skyway’s track ‘Shy Girl’ is anything but, instead it’s a gauzy and derelict house track with scattered drum hits caked in dust and grime. Ethyl closes out a dark and delicious EP with a feels-like-you’re-floating, dubby house track.
The tenth release on Don’t Be Afraid is coming from Alis. Alis is the new project from Italo-Bulgarian Londoner, Sabina Plamenova. Azimuth EP showcases this producer’s fresh take on electronic music across a range of tempos. The influence of acid house on Alis’s music, and the influence of cities like Detroit and Chicago, are pronounced. In addition D’Marc Cantu remixes the EP’s most dancefloor-friendly track, Azimuth, lending it a deeper and more brooding edge.
Santiago Salazar the UR DJ, Ican co-founder goes deep after releasing a slew of tracks on Historia y Violencia, Seventh Sign, & our own label in recent years. Lush moods with lots of strings & pads on this 3 tracker.
The Hipodrome Of Music 