Esteemed proponent of outré dancefloor manoeuvres, Superconscious Records co-founder Fantastic Man makes his Kalahari debut proper. Having shown up for rework duties on a couple of occasions, we find the mutable oddball at his most trippy and esoteric. In fact, OYSTER42 is the handiwork of a producer who has his formula of balmy, lysergic dance music down to an exact science.
Förslag På Musik is back for his third strike on Sunken Rock Recordings in the format of a proper 7” inch double sider. In his charectaristic breezy style the A side moves around somewhere in between reaggae and dreamy synth vibes while the flip takes you on dubbed out excursion filled with heavy bass and drums.
Napolitano artist Tullio De Piscopo’s ‘Stop Bajon’ was a massive mid eighties club hit and Chicago House anthem. His Italo disco, proto house, balearic classic was made for warm summer evenings, a gentle breeze in the air, beer in hand and smiley faces abound. Michael Gray has kept the downbeat groove and added some great additional beat production on his new remix.
Emotional Rescue reaches its 100th reissue in its 10th year with a landmark, a collection of previously unreleased songs from Brenda Ray. Encouraged and cajoled since the label’s inception, Brenda Ray’s (Kenny) music has gone from cult curio to cult status in that time, as her mix of DIY/post punk, dub reggae, jazz and pop transcends reached admiring audiences. Following the completion of Naafi Sandwich in 1985 and the subsequent recordings as Brenda And The Beach Balls – the sought after Volume 1 LP in 1986 and three singles on Siren/Virgin in 1987/88 – her releases might of stopped for almost two decades but she never stopped recording. The 10 songs show not only continuous activity in her North-West home studio, but to be consistently creative, moving forward and relevant. Hip-Hop, Street Soul and House all feature alongside Brenda’s unmistakeable Be-Pop-Dub-Pop song writing. Working as always with partner Gerry Kenny aka Sir Freddie Viadukt, plus a cohort of friends joining across the sphere.
Communique Records USA, reactivated the superb house-sublabel Sensuist Records and SEN006 comes from Chris Brann also known for the The Ananda Project and Wamdue Project. The first re-issue since 1997 will be available on solid 180 Gramm vinyl.
CWPT deliver four tracks of intoxicating after-hours dance music from Italian duo, Voodoos & Taboos. ‘Tropical Love’ refines the V&T sound further still into physicality and sensuality alike. DJs with a taste for sunrise and beyond are truly spoiled for choice by Voodoos & Taboos, with each track bottling a different level of rave energy. Another fine addition to the steadily expanding back catalogue of Palms Trax’s label, ‘Tropical Love’ is a refreshing turn for those with no intention of calling it a night; heads music with real heart.
The genre re-defining chameleons of Hard Ton are back on Schrödinger’s Box with their own brand of style splitting acid house disco. Bigger is Better, a double EP album, has all the depravity and drama you would expect from these disruptors. “Waking Up The House” melts claps, cowbells and vocals over a molten melody. Bold stabbing keys are central to “The Right Thing”, lyrics spiralling skyward as a bitter acid line pulls the track down into the sweaty pit of the club. That TB303 goes into overdrive for the wonderfully demonic hedonism of “Bypass My Love.” Two-stepping jack is given a voice thanks to the breathy words of Josh Caffe as fanfare rains. The understated “Let Yourself Go” is a distant cousin of the bawdy and brutish “I Know A Bitch”, the heavy bass and cutting samples of the finale recalling the basement bruisers of Chicago.
Klasse Wrecks presents Luca Lozano’s 4th album, a collection of both previously unreleased and brand new material. Recorded between the years of 2015 and 2022 and in the locations of various studios in Berlin and Sheffield, ‘Man Of Science’ collates some of the producers most accomplished and interesting work to date.
On Sentaku’s seventh release, Man/ipulate encapsulates Watatsumi’s spirit, the legendary water dragon. Known as the ruler of the seas and god of the oceans, he would control storms and rainfalls, protect its waters and transform into animals and human forms making him one of the most influential creatures in Japanese mythology. Uplifting house groovers.
Official reissue of dreamy Italian early house project, originally released in 1990, a total balearic house anthem this EP comes with 3 mixes, remastered.
Höga Nord Rekords kindly welcomes Tecwaa back to the label, following up his last full length-album “Beyond the Altai” with “Elysian on Moon Lake”. He is still exploring the intersections between house, electro, techno and dub and once again he manages to harness the analogue electronics in his machines to produce modern psychedelia. “Elysian On Moon Lake” is rawer, less airy and not as sparkling as his last album. This is a tighter, and slightly darker experience than Tecwaa’s previous work, maybe caused by being in quarantine for extensive time during production, letting some of the dreaminess aside for the harsher reality in a pandemic world. Still, you get a mind-altering experience in a lot of tracks since the album starts off in a lighter tone than how it later develops. Switching from the A- to the B-side works as a rite of passage going from dusk to night; the sun rays through the blinders are replaced by neon light dancing on the walls and ceiling.
The Jaffa Kid goes deep with his second EP for Gated, appropriately titled “Second Frequencies”. Kicking off with the beatless but driving “Phased For Days”, the EP has a kind of relentless hypnotism to it, with “Trinian”‘s almost 7 minutes of spaced out electro. Flip to the B and the acid comes to the fore, with “War On Words” and its addictive 303 line pulsing over the Kid’s signature pads. “Tangential” throws in some breaks under gritty acid, and Not The Way rounds out the EP with a truly poignant melodic beatdown.
Long time deep head Thomas Cox debuts his new label Q.E.D. Recordings with his first solo release. Sounding like these house jams were composed and then stashed at the bottom of the Monogahela River, this three tracker drips with the rusted out grime Pittsburgh was notorious for in its pre-gentrification era.
The Makossa Man is back after a hiatus of 18 years with timeless cover versions from Simoncino, F.T.G, Groove Boys Project & Carlos Nilmmns.
French dynamo LB aka Labat returns for his second EP on Steel City Dance Discs. The Lyon-based artist delivers another collection of eclectic productions, displaying his trademark ability to source and integrate individuality and soul. Skincare’s title track of the same name is a pure house throwback featuring Labat’s trademark punchy 808’s, swirling synths and hypnotic vocal line guaranteed to have you moving on any dancefloor.
The Hipodrome Of Music 