Review: Contemporary reggae artist Junior Dell and his backing band the D-Lites do it just as their forbears did back in the 70s and 80s. Stalwarts of parent label Original Gravity and favourites of theirs, it comes as no surprise: Dell recharges the reggae genre with seemingly limitless battery power, asserting without compromise the Jamaican genre's unstoppability. Appeals to infinitude aside, it still would've certainly needed a heck of a lot of electrical power to fuel all those soundsystems. Even so, 'Can't Stop The Reggae' is a serene track, deploying a lovers' tinge whilst Dell peppers the sound with his suspended vocal lilts. Woodfield Rd Allstars go a little more experimental with things, electronically sequencing their vintage drums and bubbles to a highly miscible eight-note blessup.
Junior Dell & The D Lites - "Cool Right Down" (3:13)
Woodfood Rd Allstars - "Cool Version" (3:15)
Review: A 45 that perfectly captures the laidback, island vibe of reggae music. Side-1 features Junior Dell & The D Lites' 'Cool Right Down', a catchy tune with an infectious island flavour. The unique vocal performance exudes a relaxed charm, paying homage to the chill personality of Jamaican life, while the smooth rhythm and warm melodies create an inviting atmosphere. Side-2 delivers the instrumental version, 'Cool (Version)', by Woodfood Rd Allstars. The track comes alive with dynamic instrumentation, allowing the rhythm section and melodic elements to shine. The absence of vocals puts a greater focus on the groove and the track's energy is elevated through its rich, vibrant instrumentation. Together, these two tracks offer a well-rounded experience of classic reggae, blending relaxed vibes with dynamic instrumental interplay.
Review: The classic 1982 funk anthem 'Don't Fight The Feeling' by American r&b and funk band One Way gets a fine 12" pressing here, which means it can be played nice and loud. Singer Al Hudson leads the way with his buttery vocal, while a stepping and broken rhythm with lovely dry claps and w sloppy synth squeal make for a pretty unique sound given when this was first recorded. On the flip side, Windjammer's 'I Thought It Was You' offers a more mellow, melodic contrast full of the band's signature blend of r&b and jazz with cooing, heart-melting vocals and a nice stepping rhythm that lovers of UK street soul will surely be drawn to.
Albert Washington & The Kings - "I'm The Man" (2:40)
Albert Washington - "Case Of The Blues" (2:55)
Review: Kent Soul continue in their efforts to 100% faithfully replicate the works of old soul greats from the 60s and 70s, sustaining the everlasting flame of Northern soul and its various splinter hubs across the UK. Now Cincinnatian blues legend Albert Washington gets his due: a highly productive recording artist, active from the 60s all the way through to the 90s, Washington's 'I'm The Man' seizes the a short window moment in which a new spinster might be met with an opportunistic proposition after a bad breakup. "You don't have nobody to call your own / darlin', I'm the man / I share your pain, I do / I can make all your dreams come true / now, come on / yessir, you need me..."
Review: Overthink Records marks its 10th release milestone with Waveratio 618's blend of techno and EBM. Following his standout contribution to the label's Split Series, the Italian producer delivers an intense collection crafted entirely from live jam sessions that capture the raw energy and spontaneity of such an approach as he translates hardware explorations into dynamic grooves filled with tension and drive. With a mix of analogue warmth and digital waveforms, this one is perfect for both dark dancefloors and more introspective moments.
Review: Classy dancefloor-slaying action on 10" vinyl no less from West Norwood Cassette Library, combining a thumping four to the floor beat with nifty percussion, a fairly well known snippet of hip-hop vocal and ravey stabs. The results are as hard to resist as they are to classify, except to say it leaves absolutely zero prisoners. "This one had been previously doing the rounds as a 'dubplate only' exclusive," WNCS told us, "cut especially for the Futurepastzine tenth anniversary bash just on the cusp of lockdown ... so it seemed only appropriate to ask FPZ head honcho and fellow Cassette Librarian, Rawtrachs, to attend to remix duty." So flip it over for that equally excellent reworking from Rawtrachs and stand well back - we predict not only a riot, but an awful lot of spilt beer too.
Review: Damon Wild steps up to Synewave with 'The Mood Machine', a thrilling exploration of some sleek and stylish techno. 'Make Believe' opens with a dancing line of hi-hats over pulsing sonar-like blips and driving bass. It's a future take on Detroit techno that leads into the mystic sounds of swirling pads of 'Reflection'. 'Elevate' slows things down with a more moody blend of pads and glitchy beats over rolling drums and 'Starliner' then melts theming with intricately woven layers of sheet metal snares and linear kicks. All four of these are timeless and high-quality techno tools.
Review: South Africa is a country celebrated for much great music from house to jazz, but it's not often we hear techno from all the way down there. This new label Knowledge Imprint looks to change all that starting with this first EP, Selected Reissues. Rene Wise opens up with 'Mover' which is a linear, chunky techno roller. 'Primal Fever' is a percussive cut with warped basslines and chattery perc and on the flipside, Arthur Robert opens up with the more dark shades of 'Traveller' and closes with 'Wither' which is pure tunnelling techno for 5am.
Review: Constant Sound is one of the very many labels that is headed up by Burnski and one that he reserves for club-ready tech house and minimal. Wodda steps up for the latest outing and brings some future garage energy to the opener, 'Reggae Fusion' (Deep mix) which is lit up with lithe synths and smart vocal samples. 'On My Way' has more infectious garage vibes to it with the squelchy drums and hits and some nice heady melodies up top. 'Changing Faces' gets more twisted and brings intergalactic drama to the ass-wiggling cyborg tech beats and last of all, a Tuff Mudda mix of 'Reggae Fusion' shuts down with a silky thump and throwback UKG bass.
Review: Who doesn't love a cheeky edit? And they are always cheeky, aren't they? Here we have one of Motown's most legendary artists getting reworked for modern dancefloors. Importantly, the tweaks to these two cuts are nice and subtle, which means the charm and musicianship of the originals remain. First, we get the feel-good melodies and carefree vocal sounds of 'Another Star' with some weighty drums added in, then 'Too High' becomes a deep and dusty house gem with various synth lines mingling with the beats while the vocal adds that signature Wonder soul.
Review: Bo Wosticz is a passionate music producer and DJ from the northern parts of Sweden. He has previously released own tracks as well as remixes under various names, but with this new project he returns to his roots, creating music with a wonderful blend of electronic and acoustic elements, influenced by sounds, melodies and rhythms from around the world, Suinga is a shuffling percussive kalimba led mellow house groove John Beltran delivers a subtly more energetic remix Return to Fender has an early evening rooftop feel electric pianos sit on a chugging baseline and light pads. Gnallbulver picks up the pace, just a little for the discoteque. Polished mid tempo Nordic Balearic goodness
The Spinners - "Dont Let The Green Grass Fool You"
Syl Johnson - "Black Balloons"
Peggy Scott & Jo Jo Benson - "Soulshake"
Richie Havens - "I Can't Make It Anymore"
The Exits - "You Got To Have Money"
The Joneses - "Pull My String (Turn Me On)"
The Dells - "Run For Cover"
O.C. Smith - "On Easy Street"
The Radiants - "It Ain't No Big Thing"
Billy Stewart - "Summertime"
Brother To Brother - "In The Bottle"
Baby Huey - "Hard Times"
Johnny Williams - "Maggie"
Joe Simon - "When"
James Carr - "Pouring Water On A Drowning Man"
Roscoe Robinson - "That's Enough"
Blackrock - "Blackrock Yeah Yeah"
American Gypsy - "Golden Ring"
Jon Lucien - "Search For The Inner Self"
The Mist - "Life Walked Out"
Betty Davis - "In The Meantime"
Darrell Banks - "Beautiful Feeling"
Review: Paul Weller is perhaps one of the best non-soul musicians to ask to compile a rare soul compilation. Rather than documenting soul music as it proliferated in the 1960s, Ace Records' soul aim was to capture a genre, fashion and style as one man saw it in retrospect, in light of his involvement in the mod revival of the mid 1970s. Weller would later go onto form and front The Jam, but in late 1974, shortly before his involvement in the punk movement, he was about none of that business at all. Punk partly grew on febrile tissues of mod, which was in turn an offshoot of 60s soul; and it is true that we may hear a foetal form of the sound in the brasher cuts on this record, be it Billy Stewart's 'Summertime' or James Carr's 'Pouring Water'. Also clock Brother To Brother's 'In The Bottle', a super-early drum machine blues gem perfect for the house heads.
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