‘Let Them Know’ is the debut EP by Bobby Dreams, marking the inaugural release of All Nice Records. This record is a groundbreaking introduction to the label’s ethos, characterized by a raw, distorted, and authentically underground sound, paying homage to the gritty energy of Chicago’s underground house scene.
New Betonkust release featuring melody-focused underwater house and electro on Innershades’ Altered Circuits imprint. ALT010 is a collection of four tracks that owes its name to Tropicana, the infamous subtropical swimming complex erected in 1988 on the outskirts of Rotterdam. Although it has long stopped serving its initial purpose, the huge, outlandish building remains an inescapable relic, reminding everyone of its faded heyday. Back then, next to welcoming thousands of families for a swim, it occasionally hosted mega raves – and thus also played a small, obscure part in the then equally burgeoning Dutch dance scene.
In addition to Eluard’s LP ‘Dirty Hall’ Slow Motion Label head, Fabrizio Mammarella and Napoli-based Altieri bring their revered sounds to remixes of ‘Comic Bad’ and ‘Phonemes’.
Klasse Wrecks continues its expedition through the wilderness of early 2024 with with a unique 4 tracker from Bufo Bufo. Distilling all styles and influences into one record, ‘Beelzebufo’ sees the producer capture rare species of electro, breakbeat and mangled rave together…resulting in a supernatural sonic hybrid. Play with caution…the sounds you hear maybe devastating to your ear.
Steve Bug reunites with frequent collaborator Cle for the three-track ‘It Just Happened EP’ on Nu Groove. ”It Just Happened” features breathy synths and acidic loops that harken back to an era of underground house, immediately nostalgic yet forward thinking in its technique.
The second part of Boo Williams’ double release on Sushitech’s sub label Pariter, ‘Day Rise’, is definitely more upbeat of the two but it’s a subtle distinction – it’s certainly not full of 4AM bangers designed to keep you awake until the busses start running again. ‘Talley Up’ is a very straight forward affair, circling around a two note synth riff and gradually building percussion. ‘The Take Over’ is similarly spritely, another builder with crashing cymbals, jazzy chords and drum machine tumbles steadily building an insurmountable wall of funkiness. Breezy, bumping closer ‘Teleport’ completes the set, meaning three ultra-handy, raw but sophisticated tunes that house and techno DJs alike will find slipping into their sets with a natural ease.
Chicago second generation house hero Boo Williams joining the roster with a two-part release for Sushitech’s sub label Pariter. The first part, ‘Night Fall’, features three tracks, all of which fit the mold of early evening classics. ‘Acid Matrix’ has an early Detroit feel to its raw machine handclap snares and panther-like, stalking bassline, while ‘Deep Tech’ might be geographically closer to late 80s, early 90s Yorkshire, a compulsive funkiness emerging from its bleepcentric soundscape. ‘Service Chamber’ is sleeker and more mellow, telephone dial tones spiralling off into the ether while tinkling, xylophone-sounded keys play hypnotically. Choice, quality material that will help any DJ to subtly pick the pace up as the sun falls.
Brasilian Producer Apoena kicks off 2024 in style for Hudd Traxx. “Pure Feeling” opens up proceedings in a deep and hypnotic style. “Rico Balanço” follows in a similar vain oozing with raw Berlin vibes, which is where Apoena currently resides. The B side features “In between The Beat” and the title track “Mystic” which are melodic trippy groovers for early hour vibes.
Sao Paulo’s Rafael Cancian steps up with 2 brilliant edits on Hot Pot. ”Heaven” takes up the A-side, a cosmic disco groover for midtempo dance floor ecstasy. Over to the B-side, ”Nigeriac” is a syncopated Afro Funk Rock joint for those rare groove moments.
Rawax welcomes Mark Ambrose to the artist family with “Cat Groove” which came out originally on Mark’s own label called Crayon as first release in 1997.
Colombian producer Felipe Gordon returns to the Razor-N-Tape catalog for his 3rd EP. It’s a signature FG affair, from start to finish with deep jazz house chuggers like Homage to Bossa and Flutes of Gold, to the wistful and mysterious energy of Beside Me and the arpeggiated synth stomper Acid Party at Santa Barbara.
Optimo (Espacio) started life as a weekly club night. It was born at The Sub Club in Glasgow on a wet, windy, wintry November Sunday night in 1997. Run by JD Twitch and partner in crime Jonnie Wilkes. Optimo was a reaction against what felt like an increasingly conservative musical soundtrack in clubs here at that time. Clubland felt as if it had become very bland and a bit too serious; it was the era of the dawn of the Superstar DJ. Clubs often felt like bastions of male energy. It seemed dance music and culture was going somewhere far, far away from where it was meant to be. The notion of fun had got lost. It was no longer the world they had devoted ten years of their lives to already, and lots of their friends felt the same. When the opportunity came up to do a Sunday night at The Sub Club it felt like the perfect opportunity to rip it all up and start again. So they did. There was nothing in the city (or possibly anywhere) like it. As the club believed wholeheartedly in what they were doing, there was no pressure from The Sub Club to fill the club. So, they embraced the freedom. Groups of people who had never been in the same room at the same time before came together. A community of kindred spirits started to emerge. The core of the Optimo idea was to embrace music they loved that might work on the dancefloor from whatever era or genre they thought felt right. It might not seem very radical now but at that time it was revolutionary. After about a year and a half, the club went from having 100 people attending most nights to suddenly one week having 500 people turn up. It was very weird. It was as if a collective light bulb went off in people’s heads in Glasgow. From that week on, until the very last weekly Sunday night at the Sub Club, in 2010, over a decade later, it was packed. There were 550 Sunday Optimo nights. Optimo have always loved a good slogan. The most long lived, and fitting Optimo slogan is “We Love Your Ears”, which is in essence what it is all about to them.
(Emotional) Especial looks to the emergent producer that is Chez De Milo for a new EP that collides the energy of Glastonbury, historic echoes of the free party scene and the psychedelic electronics of Bristol and the West Country into four fresh new cuts here. ‘Et Al’ is a mystic late-night house cut with crisp hits and spooky synths keeping you on edge, while ‘Gieser’ is dark and paranoid as the churning beats and snaking leads tempt you into the shadows. ‘Kremer’ keeps you locked in a synth-heavy and transcendental suspense at the heart of the dancefloor with Egyptian folk samples and ethnic grooves and ‘Thus One’ is a razor-sharp electro closer.
Members Only – The Worst Edits Vol. 10, is material edited and deranged sonically in 2001, pulled from the vaults of baked cassette tapes and VHS.
Members Only – The Worst Edits Vol. 9, pulled from the archives of baked cassette & VHS tapes, sonically abused for demented intake.
Earth Boys, the collaborative force of Michael Sherburn and Julian Duron, reemerges on Public Release with their latest EP, ‘In the Sun.’ Their signature raw and smoke-infused sound is as rugged as ever, reaffirming the unmistakable Earth Boys touch. The lead single gets a hypnotic tweaky groove courtesy of an Eden Burns remix—perfect for setting the stage for a peak-time build—while Tokyo’s Mayurashka offers a deep and contemplative atmospheric chugger. This 5-track EP is perfect for a spectrum of cheeky activities on and off the dance floor.
The Hipodrome Of Music 