CLOSED PARADISE レコード& CD

Review: Heavyweight sunnyside nostalgia from Whiskey Disco faces old and new. Icelandic BG does what he does best and work a sample until it's looped so well you could listen to it for days on end. The highlight of his couplet being the sweet subtly filtered take on Passion's "Don't Stop My Love" on "Astarjatning". Closed Paradise takes us much deeper into the night with the sexier, groove-focused "Breakin' Down" while "Wolf Sisters" closes the show on a reflective, slo-mo minor key note. All sides of disco - old and new - covered right here. Beautiful.

Review: Closed Paradise has already amassed a quietly impressive discography, notching up releases on labels including Fina, Better Listen, Kolour LTD and Whiskey Disco. With the Something Else EP, the French producer pops up on Sleazy Mcqueen's Lovedancing label for the very first time. Turn your attention to the hazy-but-sparkling, filter-sporting deep house/disco-house fusion of harp-strumming opener "What Else", before bathing in the lusciously warm and languid deep house waters of "Cindy Goes To The Party" (whose spoken word samples are alternately creepy and inspired). We also recommend the Silver Rider swirling, bass-heavy tweak of "Set It Out" - its a heady late night delight - and have plenty of time for the acid-flecked deep house stomp of Ponchartrain's "Trance" remix of "Dizzy Spell".

Review: This vinyl disco/house imprint based in the District of Columbia (USA) bring in French rising star Closed Paradise to inaugurate their new Black Label series. Closed Paradise is an established and well respected producer whose vibe is centered on a solid groove and seamlessly slips between, house, deep disco, soul, lounge and boogie. With releases on labels as diverse as Kolour, Whiskey Disco and Masterworks, he's having a great run. This follows up a nice release on his eponymous imprint that displayed his knack for deeper-tinged sounds - as heard on the sultry and balmy opener "Secrets". A nod to previous disco styled edits on the soul/funk tip can be heard on "Tchin Tchin". On the flip, there's a very Kenny Dixon Jr. influenced vibe on the wicked "Swang It" and he saves the best for last on the emotive and life affirming groove of "Chief" - now that there is real proper deep stuff indeed!

Review: Mathieu Cle's Closed Paradise follows up his superb Masterworks release earlier this year with another delicate, deep and downright heady EP. This time four tracks are in the offing, each one as robust and loopy as the last; from the slippery bass slaps of "Asymmetrical" and the crowd's whoops and hollers on "Dice" right through the teasing piano and vocal echo loops on "Bad Girl" and the slower, sexier deep disco funk of "Filtered Light", Cle's understanding of DJ dynamics and dancefloor desires are as chiselled as possible... Good times guaranteed.

Review: Vinyl only, limited numbers: Masterworks launch a brand new 10" series, and they're doing it in style as rising French disco doyen Closed Paradise lays down two powerful sample-based grooves. "Your Love I'm Gonna Take" slaps with a sleazy bassline, rushing sound FX and textures and teasing snippets of the original source vocal. "The Vision" takes a loopier twist with a pristine guitar line that opens out with every 16 to reveal more and more. Soulful, timeless and stupendously funky. Grab it while you can.

Review: Following recent impressive outings on Above Machine and, surprisingly, Whiskey Disco, Mathieu Cle once again dons the Closed Paradise guise, this time for Kolour Ltd. Opener "Planets" sets the tone, delivering a warm and dreamy blend of fluttering chords, stretched-out build-ups and rolling grooves. Brame and Hamo deliver a sunnier, more obviously soulful take on the same track - complete with what sound like a few live instrumental flourishes - before Cle drops the locked-in, bass-heavy chug of "Tunnels". Finally, he joins forces with Journey Reverse on "Moelleuz", a loose, soulful and woozy jam that benefits greatly from an ultra-dreamy breakdown and some choice vocal samples.

Review: Hot on the heels of his Whiskey Disco EP, Mathieu Cle continues to the soundtrack the summer of his life with two more blissful, shimmering slices of Balearica. "Horizon" unravels by way of lush breezy pads and slippery guitars and easy-flowing keys that gradually take more and more of the spotlight, like a welcomed ship sailing closer and closer. "Night Motel" is takes us deeper into the evening with light skippy breaks and subtle samplecraft. Remix-wise The Project Club deconstruct "Horizon" and rebuild it with the same crisp psych rock tones as Pacqua might do while Maricopa goes right back to the late 80s with full emphasis on the synthetic strings and flutes. Paradise is open for business once again...

Review: The second release from the Fools & Fables label comes from Closed Paradise, aka Mathieu Cle, and follows Maricopa's recent debut, an artist that first debuted on Tusk Wax in 2012. Closed Paradise keeps the beats, groove and vibe of "Jungle Goddess" so laid back it become the type of music you dance to while lying down, with chugging house beats mixed with sounds of nature and ambient piano keys. On the flip there's "Get Your Bearings" which is slightly more upbeat thanks to some light African rhythms and sensual Rhodes playing. Good times.

Review: Only 300 of these puppies are being pressed with no intention of digital trips or represses. Sitting sexily between disco and deep house, each of these cuts wriggles and writhes with summer intentions. "Soy Beans" is a straight-up Chicago groove, all house proud and loopy, "You Got It Goin On" is driven by a Moodyman style jazz loop, "808 Pleasure" starts with classic warehouse intentions before dropping into a groove so beautiful Mr Fingers would snap his digits. Finally we take a skinny dip in the oceanic synths and fathomless depths of "You Keep Me Waiting". We didn't think it was possible, but long weekends just got even better!