Dani Plessow aka Motor City Drum Ensamle returns to his label for a new EP featuring some Awesome gospel inspired 4 Track House tracks.
detroit house
VA – Modern Underground Music Volume 2 [BC005]
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.
Theo Parrish – Dance Of The Medusa [SS049]
Theo’s getting jazzier and more eccentric with age (if that’s possible). On this latest jaunt he seems to be re-tracing the steps of one his biggest influences, Sun Ra. “Dance Of The Medusa” is an experimental jazz number with the emphasis on experimental. Although somehow squeezing into a standard 4/4 time measure, the sounds and syncopation between the instruments is anything but normal, as Theo deploys piano attacks, torn strings and his usual MPC abuse to the track. “Bubbles” sees more experimentation, squelching artifacts ricocheting against detuned hats and hollow bass notes. The whole B side is given to “Ambalamps” which may well become an emotive, melancholic, future-ballad if we were to get invaded by aliens and be facing a huge world apocalypse. Reversed strings and minor key riffs and melodies are smudged and stirred into a dark, introspective blend which screams of desolation and hurt. Indeed a dark venture for our man Theo but then he always liked to keep us on our toes – and the track is, by no mistake, undeniably Theo.
Scott Grooves – BitterSweet [MS003]
Moodymann – Moodymann Classics Vol. 5 [MC005T]
Rick Wade – Detroit Fury [HIZOU003]
Sliding on over to Hizou Deep Rooted, prime purveyor of all things deep and alluring Rick Wade might seem a little misleading with his new EP entitled Detroit Fury. As is evident from the man’s back catalogue, there’s not a lot that’s furious about the Wade sound and it’s here in abundance, with finely balanced drums, moody chords and that healthy dollop of disco velour to make sure everything moves properly. “Heavy” is a particular dream with its expertly wielded keys and lackadaisical tone, while the expressive bass line on “Gambit” will be inspiring ‘hurt-so-good’ faces everywhere.
Nick Anthony – Moonlight Music EP [CONS002]
Simoncino, with his alias Nick Anthony, takes on the second release for the Conservation Department series with a four track EP. The title track leads off and is followed by the killer groove on “Underwater Sunlight”. “Jamaica Girls” & “Lay It On The Line” on the flip bring more disco dance.
Delano Smith – Precipice EP [MM011]
The label boss’s return to his own Mixmode sees him explore earthy house rather than the streamlined beaters that made Odyssey such a smash. Precipice EP has three hypnotic tracks of organic Motor City textures and rhythms. Mariana’s Song builds with the strong fluid motion omnipresent in all Smith’s productions. Mechanical drums drive a rugged analogue bass line, while flowing pads are layered to create a bright soundscape. The track is one to captivate the floor, building effortlessly to lock it into step. Set over a tight locomotive groove, Delano’s talent for twisting up vocal samples creates a smokey, atmosphere on Celebration. Toughening the drums and easing in the bottom end, choice drum fills heighten the impact of the beautifully swung drums. The dusty beats on Dream Come True bounce with a wide eyed rawness. At once fragile and assertive, the soft chords are reclined above a gently insistent bass line to give the floor or the home stereo a comfortable ride. Able to focus the output of his own label on the kind of tracks that first saw him emerge, Delano has built a bridge to introduce new ears to the sound of his city.
Obsolete Technology – Got Wax! #2 [GWX002]
The second Gotwax! EP is a longsided club two-tracker with detroit- and dub-flavoured raw-body-music. Both tracks come from new artist ‘Obsolete Technology’.
Benjamin Brunn – A Sun Life [3EEP201210]
Benjamin Brunn has been honing his distinctive and original sound over a series of intermittent releases. His use of the Nord Modular synth is one of the defining characteristics of his sound. He uses the instrument in a wide-ranging and original way, accompanied by a Roland TR707 drum machine. “A Sun Life” was not conceived as a piece of work with a theme. Over a period of two years, Benjamin Brunn sent tracks to Third Ear. Slowly the album began to take shape and become A Sun Life, an album full of different vibes, different grooves, different flows. “A Sun Life” shows Benjamin Brunn achieving something like a perfection of his sound. All the tracks have a fluidity and viscosity, whether like water or oil or honey .. air or sunlight. They start, flow and grow, shift and shimmer, their latent power held in some kind of check. Then they dissipate and fade.
Ron Trent – Raw Footage [EB001CD]
The tone always makes the music. But only those who actually make the sound? An ancient-house-avantgarde dream has always been there since the legendary Warehouse days of Ron Hardy, to bring more sounds and tones constantly to an independent, repetitive development. And thus beyond the limits of an executive creative artist on the otherwise purely commercial sense what we call in common beyond imagination. “Raw Footage”, the latest album concoction of Chicago house legend Ron Trent on his new imprint Electric Blue works in the best sense of Stanislav Lem heroes Trurl & Klapauciusals, cruising like those two metal brains frantically invented by the universe of 4/4-Sounds to get insane tracks out of the new material matter located there, and put them together to brand new ones. This trackwerk varies as well as of course between classical Chi-Town to the context of contemporary, epic house dubs and lives in a perfidious manner from the interaction of various computer modules that constantly spits out new and exciting interactions.
Basic Soul Unit – Motional Response [STILLMCD008]
Through the years, Basic Soul Unit has established a solid following for his quality melodic techno. “Motional Response” is a work of art. A finely crafted suite of ten tracks where elaborate techno rhythms battle with intricate synth harmonies to create a genre defining full length. Throughout this album, 303s, 909s and 808s are a constant nod to Basic Soul Unit’s Detroit and Chicago influences without ever compromising his melodic vision in techno and house. The album is including “Breath” , Basic Soul Unit’s first track with a vocalist along with a remix from label owner Jerome Derradji (with Gerald Mitchel – on strings).
Kris Wadsworth – Life & Death [GPMCD059]
Get Physical presents Kris Wadsworth and his debut album – ‘Life and Death’. Opening with the dark monologue of “Alienated American”, the stage is set for a look into what Kris is capable of when he turns his thoughts to sound. “It’s the present state of the music I make.” explains Kris, “It is a look into the future of my music, what I am capable of, but also limited to by label aesthetics.” While tracks like “Definition Of” are pretty straightforward in their own right, pieces like ‘Famous Anus’ are full of irony. “Music is my career, so it is ‘Life and Death’ to a certain extent. But also, there are too many uptight people in this industry that take themselves too seriously. It’s me: Serious music which also makes fun of the world around me.” On the other end of the scale is “Girl Talk”, a deep and gripping track, bringing a perfect late night vibe together through various pads and the organic percussion. The present vocal lines provide a rhythm and weave a thread throughout not only this track, but the general spirit of the album. The album operates on a very natural level, providing deep dancefloor gems along with timeless tracks for every occasion. It’s not your typical dance album, it pushes boundaries and challenges your expectations because that’s where it plays at it’s best – on the edge of your comfort zone, expanding your horizons and tastes while consistently delivering on all fronts.
Dwayne Jensen – Night Vision EP [DSR003]
This time Dockside works with Dwayne Jensen, one of Detroit’s true pioneers of house, boss of Fathom Records. Here are 2 excellent tracks of funky deep house with a really serious groove.
Rick Wade – Full Deep Alchemy [HP014]
VA – Kern Exclusives [DRH041]
Deeply Rooted House presents the Kern Exclusives, featuring 3 exclusive tracks included in DJ Deeps latest mix CD on Tresor Records. Some fine dubbed out tripping Techno/House cuts by Bleak, Dj Gregory and a remix by Kerri Chandler for Rootstrax.
The Oliverwho Factory – Before [DOLLY012]
The Oliverwho Factory on Dolly. The mysterious duo from Detroit delivers a relentless techno/house workout in two versions, with all trademark Oliverwho elements present including soulful vocals. Raw, deep, funky, soulful, futuristic… in other words: Detroit techno as it should be.
Mike Huckaby – Groove Podcast 13
Marcellus Pittman – Pieces [UNICD001]
The long overdue 10 track debut album from Marcellus Pittman on his own label Unirhythm. Includes some tracks that were vinyl only previously, as well as about 5 new tracks, including a Jamie 326 edit. Pittman is one of Detroit’s hidden gems of production. A talent with an unmistakeable sound that is undeniably his own.
The Hipodrome Of Music 