For Illusion Recordings 6th edition we travel across Europe to the current deep house mecca of Russia to present Volta Cab for his Illusion debut. This is not your typical house release and that’s the way we like it. This eclectic EP crosses many genres from Soul to Hip Hop to Deep House and shows off a dexterity of sound Illusion has been building towards since its first release. Featuring remixes by Trus’me and Creative Swing Alliance.
Generation Next has appeared on some of the Big Strick cuts like Alpha & Omega and Resivior Dogs. The 17 year old is the newest addition to the 7 Days Ent. camp and he brings his first self titled E.P. A four song masterpiece that is sure to move the dance floor.
Low-key German producer Yør returns to similarly low key Dutch imprint Purple Maze for his third full outing on the label in the form of the ‘Sublimation EP’. Across the four tracks Yør continues to explore the same frayed and decayed, abstract electronics as he has in the past. The opener and title track is an intense and moody, nerve jangling affair where huge searching synths pan in the background of grinding drums and dense percussive clatter before ‘Gravity’, with its heavyweight and churning drums, trudges on through sonic scuzz and lo-fi blizzards as a backlit melody keeps things from growing all too dark and abstract. The dystopian, tortured industrial funk of ‘Parallels’ with its slapping claps and decaying percussive lines are proof of that, where through chaos comes beautiful order. Closer ‘Trust’ holds its head a little higher, more spiralling synths and bleepy fax machines tones add a sense that the apocalypse is coming and machines will take over, but there’s enough organic beauty in the deeply hidden melodies to keep the track from being all too hostile.
Vitalik presents the ‘Jedi House EP’ by Agnes. Agnès is the embodiment of the consummate perfectionist and here on the ‘Jedi House EP’ he makes a welcome return to the dubbed out, chugging house grooves he first became renowned for. Each high hat, each snare, each kick is meticulously crafted. While the EP contains weapons for deeper dancefloors, the audio motifs throughout allow the listener succinct excursions left and right of the underlying musical theme, enabling it to flow from start to finish as one rounded body of music
Massimiliano Pagliara is back where he belongs. A backbone of Live At Robert Johnson records, Pagliara’s take on neo-dance, post-disco and proto-house is as unmistakable as it is dreamlike. With this sound palette, a love for hardware and surgical arrangements “Magic Serials” sees the Berlin-based producers on top of his game. While name checking the tools of his work, MP unfolds untold stories of love, high spirits and deep meditation that every romantic rave craves for – acid poetry included.
New 12″ from veteran producer Patrik Sjeren, with two smooth and bumping House tracks for the A side. On the B side, Sjeren changes it up and gets dark and dirty with two acidic techno tracks.
Dani Plessow aka Motor City Drum Ensamle returns to his label for a new EP featuring some Awesome gospel inspired 4 Track House tracks.
This is the 5th Black Catalogue release. “Modern Underground Music Volume 2” is another collection of tracks from all sectors of the electronic music underground. This sampler contains some fantastic exclusive tracks from Monty Luke, London’s Ibrahim Alfa Jnr., San Francisco’s Lance De Sardi, the amazing AbJo and brand new artist Kneco Uqdah Jr., hailing from the Detroit. Each track has its own style and fashion and continues Black Catalogue’s commitment to global dancefloor devastation.
Full Flavor Music has reached its 18th release, the Freefall EP by Strange Attractor. Strange Attractor is an alter ego of Jonah Sharp aka Spacetime Continuum and half of Reagenz, his collaborative project with Move D. Jonah’s sound with Strange Attractor tends to reflect a slightly darker and more techy side of his productions. Freefall is the peak time drivey cut, with a perfect 4/4 beat and a great build going on with layers of synth sounds. Plexa uses Jonah’s favorite, his 808 providing a standout build with several elements of the drum machine all working together. There’s an unexpected synth line that comes towards the tail end of the track that gives it clever perfection! Sudachi gives more of a funk element finishing off the EP nicely, very comparable to a Spacetime Continuum tune with rich layers of synth arpeggiation coming from Jonah’s Roland SH-101. These tracks were composed live in the studio, pretty much in one take with all hardware running straight through the board and processed in the moment using mostly analog gear.
The mysterious Pjotr on Udacha. “Sky Is The Limit” opens proceedings with its bubbling, sun-drenched mid-tempo lounge tones given definition with a subtly urgent arpeggio, while “Mariya” picks up the pace with its gently jacking snares, plucked guitar and organic bass. On the flip, “True Spirit” wraps silky chords around unpredictable MPC style drums, while “I See” buries its raw drums deep within a muggy low end filter, allowing a blissful melodic arrangement.
The 1st release in a series of reissues from the Moods & Grooves catalogue. Andrés – Out in the Open and Mike Grant – The Struggle of My People (Mr. G’s There’s Hope Mix).
Christopher Rau with three tracks on Junk Yard Connections. “The Green Bean”, which has some of that sexy swampy house vibe. On the flip its “Some Song” with its more techier vibe, somehow with an atmosphere reminding of Model 500’s classic Starlight. And last but not least the b2 track No Chatter with its up beat house vibe.
The second part of the “What About Talk About” series by Baaz starts with “Owl’s Night”. A deep house tool with a vigorous bassline, some classic 909 elements, weird vocals and a pumpin’ piano chord. “Those Things” the second Track on the A, infects you with positive vibrations and the magic mood. The B side enters with a remix by the highly skilled producer Michel Bauman under his moniker Soulphiction. He turned the track called K.M.S. into an emotional and strong kicking house tune. The Original is produced by Iron Curtis & Baaz . 90 Bpm, a dippy pipe organ, wooden beats and shaky percussions. The last track ”Whatabouttalkabout” is a lush experimental listening slice, prober for the dark and chilly winterdays.
The return of Atelewo (Osunlade & The Pasta Boys) on Yoruba. Percussive, brass driven soul song about love. Infinity proves to continue with solid production and sound of the teams collaborative efforts. Sendai is a simple mood based groove honoring and acknowledging the loss in the tsunami of 2011. A simple gesture of remembrance this one adapts a local newscaster explaining the devastation and sorrow.
Vision Collective Recordings present their first vinyl EP. The EP features four deep and soulful tracks, coming from Mick Verma, QuestionmarQ and Maksy.
Kai KZR Alce of NDATL announces the upcoming release of Olmec Save Us by R&B powerhouse Donnie. The original mixes produced by Alce is marked by high-end tones and layered, multitracked vocals. The musicality conveys an otherworldly, high-frequency vibration and is generally more percussive, with greater emphasis on the keyboards (played by Ricky Corey). While listeners are treated to the full-length orignal versions of Donnie’s epic tale, the Yoruba Soul Mix by noted house producer Osunlade allows for a deeper interpretation of the overall message. Also included are instrumentals of both versions that will have house heads anticipating personal and creative transformation through the sound and on the dance oor.
Detroit’s original underground groove-maker comes on board with a 4-track package of goodies. Mr. Wade brings back the deep and soulful vibes of his famous ‘night series’ with the Night Addiction ep. The A-side title track kicks off with dark keys winding through a thumping bassline and sultry horns, while Enter Dawn plunges deep into an ocean of warm pads and hypnotic bass. Flip over to the B-side for the obscure sounds of Hold Youth’s modern rework of Night Addiction, plus S3A’s disco-house interpretation, full of funky sampling, that will surely have hands up in the air.
Superb Recordings announce the second vinyl only release introducing Tom Joyce from Paris with his debut EP. ‘Brume de pomme’ and ‘Out of bounds’ are the result of his determined work, two deep house tracks. The EP include remixes by Lerosa and Carlos Nilmmns.
Trinidadian Deep is back on Neroli with Deep Love EP, a combination of more musical pieces like the infectious ‘Sweet Gal’ and the classic USG sounding ‘Mama Yemeya’ and a more spacey and far out one ‘My Eshu’.
The Hipodrome Of Music 