William Kincaid / Cliff Solomon / The Jak & Lex Lathan – Circuit Collapse / Battle Cry / The Call On The Edge [DB011]

DirtybLends edition is another 3 track release combining 3 different ideas together from heavy Jakbeat to old school slower style tracks of the label: Chicago Underground to early 80s proto-house instrumentals of Boyd Jarvis. The A siDe kicKz oFF wit the return of kincaid presenting a daRk n meNaciNg composition played n created wit bLood n sweat behind the vintage music boxes to come with this 12 minute riPPer of beauty entitled: Circuit Collapse. The 1st production on the B-side comes from new member of The Klan of The Beatheadz: Cliff Solomon on this production the caT honors the timeless work of the originator Boyd Jarvis & Timmy Regisford from 1985 on next plateau. Developing drum and bassline ideas with elevated drama and deepest respect for the true pioneers of the underground. The final tune on Dirtyblends 11 on the B side is a collaboration from The Jak and Lex Lathan recorded at Nation HQ presenting their idea to keep the spirit of the early releases on Chicago Underground that were produced more slower in style entitled: The CaLL {oN tHe EdgE}

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William Kincaid / Cliff Solomon / The Jak & Lex Lathan – Circuit Collapse / Battle Cry / The Call On The Edge [DB011]

Grizzly Knuckles / The Jak – Caviar (Ensemble) / From Old Days Past [DB010]

DirtybLends edition 10 is a Chicago slab of ruff business. The A-side comes from new member of The Klan of The Beatheadz, Grizzly Knuckles with ‘Caviar’ an influential continuation concept from the early days of trax records for 1 of the nastiest productions to come from The Sensuous Man & Woman Goes Disco laying on top of a drum machine rhythm that gets to the heart of the cut and the message. The B-side comes from the leader of The Klan of The Beatheadz: The Jak himself re-creating the drum rhythm of Jesse Saunders with his Kpr machine from scratch, then applying influential sounds from his keyboard to sound like DJ Rush from his proto release on relief records by creating a new blueprint for Jakbeat CHICAGO style of slam dance and mosh pit chaos that happened at The Reactor or Medusa’s (for those who remember)

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Grizzly Knuckles / The Jak – Caviar (Ensemble) / From Old Days Past [DB010]

Ron Morelli – Rhythm Master Volume 1 LP [LIES202]

L.I.E.S. boss, Ron Morelli follows up his acclaimed “Heart Stopper” LP with a new six track mini LP. The six tracks on “Rhythm Master” focus on a departure from the more song based structures of “Heart Stopper,” presenting a series of raw “old style” beat tracks for the DJs to use and abuse as they see fit, although these tracks are not as cut and dry as the title may imply. Check the complex, jacking, drum programming of the Fingers inspired “Loose Screw” or absolute melodic deep house mastery on the closing track “Escapes.” and the late nite mix show drama of “Disco Gridlock” with its monstrous reverb drenched kick opening the b-side. All of these standing on their own and all of them displaying Morelli’s versatility as a producer in his ability to pinpoint and execute the many styles that made djs what they were back in the days.

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Ron Morelli – Rhythm Master Volume 1 LP [LIES202]

The Kid n Cliff – Don’t Be Alarmed / Heavy Thump (Bang Dat Shyt) [DB009]

DirtybLends edition 9 is a Deep Concentration release…if you’ve been really paying close attention Deep Concentration just dropped on LA Club Resource for their 6 track homage ep even though the text reads for the artists as The Kid n Cliff, put 1 & 1 together.

the A-side of ‘Don’t B Alarmed’ is truly definitive!! the musical journey speaks volumes..the B-side is an instant BEATDOWN with ‘Heavy Thump {beat dat shyt}’ that is focused entirely on a CHICAGO style of GUTS, pianos and damage!!

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The Kid n Cliff – Don’t Be Alarmed / Heavy Thump (Bang Dat Shyt) [DB009]

The Falcon / Grizzly Knuckles / The Jak – Sound The Alarm / Mad Bell / Aftermath [DB008]

dirtybLends edition 8 is a 3 track INFERNO-SMACKDOWN combining 3 different ideas of new age/oLd scHooL Jakbeat inspired from a significant hero in the Chicago Underground scene of the early nineties dropping crucial releases on record labels: Saber, Dancemania and Relief.

The Falcon kicks the A-side into madness with ‘Sound The Alarm’ made 2 Jak 4 Crazies that’s completely bezerk n twisted!!
B1 introduces this nU cOhort to the label on this release comes from Grizzly Knuckles (a thuggish menace) bringing his weapon of choice musically in a hypnotic spell of mental riddims wit ‘Mad Bell’
this is chicago pit-tripping for those who are aware!
B2 brings The Jak as the final nail in the coffin to complete this 12 inch with ‘Aftermath’ that is for those who have any idea of SLaM dance body blows..this is that level of crazy!

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The Falcon / Grizzly Knuckles / The Jak – Sound The Alarm / Mad Bell / Aftermath [DB008]

Timothy J Fairplay – Rule The Streets [DGMD005]

‘Rule The Streets’ is Timothy “J” Fairplay’s latest album on his label Dungeon Module. After 2021’s ‘A Snowstorm In The Tropics’, 2023 has been a busy year for the label. In February Timothy released ‘Dungeon Module Volume 1’ followed by ‘I Lay Awake At Night Scheming’ in August. This album was recorded in Timothy’s current studio, with his Casio RZ-1 central to the set up. 8 raw jack tracks inspired by the early days of house music, and catches Timothy at his most minimal. The early days of the Chicago and Detroit and how they drew influence from Europe in their stripped back sound is an endless influence on Timothy’s work. The bumpy opener ‘Rule The Streets’ has a vocal refrain which sounds like something from a 70’s gang movie. ‘Insufficient Funds’ is a playful jam based around a junk shop delay unit. ‘Pleasure Beach’ an 8 bit house/funk beat track. ‘Back To The Stone Age’ with its flanger heavy percussion and a booming Adonis style vocal. Side B starts with ‘Instant Replay’ with its rolling 808 toms and white noise intro. ‘Safety Patrol’ has a deeper Mr Fingers feel, followed by the stalker-ish ‘Gang Bass’ with its sampled live bass and strings. Last of all is ‘Livin’ It Up’ made entirely with the sampler on the RZ-1 sounding like a Lil Louie demo.

Timothy J Fairplay – Rule The Streets [DGMD005]

Robert Bergman – Flight/Golf 4 [B15]

A tribute record of sorts. But Brew style. In a sci-fi techno way a take on Sleng Teng. Use the machines, do not let them control you. The flip contains a car chase theme song that’s tailored to perhaps the best car ever made. The VW Golf 4. Which can only be improved with a blown soundsystem. And possibly with actual cars who are in pursuit.

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Robert Bergman – Flight/Golf 4 [B15]

Deep Concentration – Unearthed Essentials Volume 1 [LACR035]

New heat on L.A. Club Resource beat out by Duke & Cliff! Unearthed Essentials pays honourable homage to classics over six tracks….names like Boyd Jarvis, Marcus Mixx, Gherkin, and Nick Nonstop all popping up on this one. Continuing to move forward bringing essential, formative dance music back to the forefront over these six tracks.

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Deep Concentration – Unearthed Essentials Volume 1 [LACR035]

Traxx presents The Definitive Articles Of House Music Chapter 3

“For the 3rd chapter from the definitive days of house music, as the previous 2 chapters is education that a lot of alleged “House” DJs and Producers are obviously lacking.

Traxx plays again from the early 80s, 90s and today from vintage and out of print record labels: Polar, Trojan, Dirtyblends, Westwood, Smack Trax, Slip n Slide, Trax Records, to productions from: Boyd Jarvis, Urban Soul, Blaze, Virgo, Prince, Romanthony, Colonel Abrams, Leron Carson, Tyree, MBD, Marcus Mixx, Ron Morelli, Nature Boy, Delroy Edwards, Turtle Bugg, Cliff Solomon and also a new joint from Deep Concentration bridging and building blocks of the early dance music scene culture with selections of today and yesterday incorporating musical blueprints of Chicago and New York’s timeless heroes we admire, honor and inspired by their education.

We hope this will give people the chance to listen to music many may have never heard on this side of sound that provides a provocative and thoughtful musical workout in your mind..

This musical timeline is literally all over the rhythm scales ⚖️with vinyl turntables, a vintage mix console…effects box and cd players.”

Traxx presents The Definitive Articles Of House Music Chapter 3

Chris Mitchell – No Consensus [FCT002]

Feral Colony is the label of U.S. based artist Chris Mitchell (Vanguard Sound, Annunaki Cartel), focused on direct, improvised methods. The second cassette release “No Consensus” is a 7 grimey tracks album by Chris Mitchell himself.

Chris Mitchell – No Consensus [FCT002]

Traxx presents The Definitive Articles of House Music Chapter 2

“For the 2nd chapter from The Definitive Articles of House Music, Traxx plays from the early 80s, 90s and today from vintage and out of print bootlegs and record labels housetime, precision, nbasement and street sounds to productions from Carlos Berrios the Latin rascals, Bobby Konders, Edward “Get Down” Crosby, the Williesden brothers and a secret alias known as Genius At Work with new material from Modern Analysis, Deep Concentration and musical blueprints of Chicago and New York’s timeless heroes we admire, honor and inspired by their education with this 2 hour and 48 minute selection.

We hope this will give people the chance to listen to music many may have never heard on this side of sound that provides a provocative and thoughtful musical workout in your mind..

This musical timeline is literally all over the rhythm 🎵 scales ⚖️ with vinyl turntables, a vintage mix console…effects box and cd players.”

Traxx presents The Definitive Articles of House Music Chapter 2

Ron Morelli – Heart Stopper [LIES200]

L.I.E.S. Records founder, Ron Morelli, makes a rare appearance on his own label with his eagerly anticipated double LP, “Heart Stopper”. Heart Stopper is undoubtedly the “dance” record that reaches back to the early days of his L.I.E.S. Records label where artists such as Delroy Edwards, Steve Summers, Traxx, and Svengalisghost all came together digging into the primitive, foundational sounds of original Chicago, New York, and Detroit House music putting it through a contemporary lens. Recorded between 2019-2022, this LP is the culmination of many years of Morelli honing his craft, from digging and studying old records, to focusing and sharpening his production techniques, the L.I.E.S. boss has delivered an album that is a testament of his true love and obsession of the genre, with “Heart Stopper” being the record to cement the now iconic L.I.E.S. legacy even further. In the often shapeshifting world of modern dance music, “Heart Stopper” is what a House record should be. Full of passion and unfiltered emotion, uplifting at moments, pensive at others; with raw, jakin’ drum programming, big basslines, and anthemic synths driving the release throughout.

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Ron Morelli – Heart Stopper [LIES200]