Funky House Recommendations August 2012

Review: Faced with a deluge of ultra-serious industrial techno, Noir & Haze pushed in the opposite direction. "Around" is a spacey but catchy arrangement, its billowing chords sweeping along the melancholic vocals. Solomun from Diynamic provides two top-quality remixes which turn the original into a dubby groove laced with trancey riffs, while the extended instrumental version is more techno-centric, glistening with shiny synth solos. On this much needed Defected reissue, we even get the Sub-Ann remix (another scorcher), and the MURKed vocal mix, focussing more on electro elements and chopping those famous vocals left, right and centre. Big? No, MASSIVE!

Review: Nocturnal Groove have done a grreat job of reissuing a healthy number of remixes for this now too-good-to-hear masterpiece! The Shapeshifters up first, who keep all those lovely lyrics but give the track a harder, pumping edge. Pete Gooding's rerub is a harsh tech-house vision of the original and it works wonders, whereas over on the flip, Danism go for a synth-pop re-modelling - another biggie...URH closes with a samba-rhythm deep house flex, adding in some tasty bongos and background female vocals. Good job guys!

Review: Hate is such a strong word. In fact we're actually banned from using it in Juno unless it's within the context a review like this! And we'll only use it once: what's to hate about this dusty collection of authentic super early Chicago acid house? Rumours abound that they're all Ron Hardy cuts taken from old reel-to-reel tapes. While we can't confirm this, we can confirm that they're definitely classics that not only deserve to see the light of day but also capture a much more simplistic, gung-ho approach to electronic music. Edgy, rough-cut samples, rattling hi-hats and juicy 808 bass... Go ahead and get lost in the groove.