Review: Kerri Chandler has once again dipped into the vaults of his long-running Kaoz Theory label and picked out two previously digital-only gems deserving of a belated vinyl debut. On side A you'll find Demuir's soulful and uplifting 2020 jam 'Lusting U', a rolling chunk of semi-organic house warmth featuring superb lead vocals from British vocalist Bluey Robinson. Over on side B, it's all about DJ Sneak's 'Judy Russell', a killer cut first featured on his Movin' Parts EP three years ago. A bit deeper, woozier and more loose-limbed than some of his more muscular and forthright workouts, it sees the veteran producer wrap synthesized vocalisations and sunny chords around a chunky bassline and swinging house beats that sound like they could have come straight out of Kenny Dope's MPC.
Review: Original Chi-Town bad man DJ Sneak shows up with his latest selection of loop-driven house jams, serving up five floor-focused cuts on the 'Disko Dialogue' EP. A key figure in the second wave of Chicago house, his prolific career has seen him explore acid house, disco cut-ups, and hypnotic, tracky realms. Much, if not all, of that is on display here. The title track features looped strings and echoing vocals over a pounding kick and skippy snares, while 'Kick Da Flow' follows a similar trajectory, albeit with a slightly more restrained mood. 'Bottom Acid' ups the energy with pulsing 303 gliding over piercing drums, while 'Acid Wunders' dives into trippier territory, with its nocturnal groove endlessly undulating. The rolling rhythms of 'Elements' cap a fine EP, with DJ Sneak proving he's lost none of his big-room bravado or production swagger.
Review: Puerto Rico-born, Chicago-raised DJ Sneak returns with four cuts that do exactly what they need to. There's nothing flashy about 'The Test Of Time' - just a looping groove, clipped vocal and low-end built for long blends. 'Spinnin Around' digs deeper into his filtered disco heritage, slathering soulful stabs over crunchy drums with that unmistakable Henry Street swing. On the flip, 'Return Of The 1200' tips its hat to the decks of choice with a chugging, percussive build and low-slung funk, while 'Dirili Da Da Disco' plays things looser - an elastic roller full of rhythmic oddities. This isn't reinvention. It's Sneak doing Sneak. Real house music, no gimmicks, from a man who's been too consistent to care about trends.
Review: DJ Sneak is of course the self-proclaimed house gangster and proud lover of his own BBQ skills. He is also a man who knows how to make a damn good house groove with fizzy loops and weighty drums that never fail to lock us in. And that's just what we get here with a new EP via Digital Tape Recordings that kick off with the train-track grooves of 'No More Waiting.' There is more bump and grind to 'Help Is On The Way' with its chopped-up vocal loops, and '1234' then has a little garage skip in its bones. 'Essex Strolling' shuts down with a deeper vibe.
Review: Over the last 18 months, DJ Sneak has been on an impressive run of form. There have been essential releases for Phonogramme, Frappe and, most recently, Toy Tonics. Here the Chicago legend returns to Heist Recordings, an imprint he last appeared on early last year, with another essential four-track missive. He begins with the hard-wired boompty bounce of 'I Can Tell What You Want', where alien-sounding chords and chopped vocal snippets leap above an insatiable groove, before heading off on a sample-rich breakbeat house flex on 'A Taste of the 90s'. Over on the B-side, 'Dirty Jazz' joins the dots between Chi-town acid and jazz-sampling deep house, while 'You Know What I Mean' is a refreshingly rubbery and loose-limbed excursion that should appeal to dancers who like to get their feet moving.
Review: Chicago house legend and self-professed gangster DJ Sneak must have been busy recently because he has a couple of great EPs arriving this summer. This one takes him to the long-running East Yorkshire label Hudd Traxx and given the title, For The Soul Vol 1, could be the start of a series. That would not be a bad thing cause these are more than useful jams starting with 'We All Need Love' which pairs his raw, loopy, groovy style with disco-infused samples. 'For The Soul' is another silky and hypnotic house sound with hooky tones and lovely snares, while on the flip 'From Da House' gets more joyous with its streaming chords and last but not least, 'En Route' brings a more raucous percussive edge for peak time deployment.
Review: Experience the innovative sounds of DJ Sneak with this 12" vinyl release, an EP delivering four standout tracks that redefine the garage and house genres. From the commanding groove of 'Years In The Game' to the dynamic beats of 'Bad Muthafucka', each track exemplifies DJ Sneak's legendary prowess. Only Cuts expertly curates these bangers, ensuring superior quality and a transformative listening experience. Dive into this sophisticated collection and discover the future of house music.
Review: Fun fact: over the course of his near three-decade career, DJ Sneak has only previously released one 10-inch single ('3D Print' on Pressure Traxx back in 2018). Now he has a second to add to the discography thanks to this killer two-tracker on German label Salon. Check first A-side 'Pass It Around', a heavy, breathless and restless loop jam marked out by loose-limbed drum fills, ragged acid squelches, weighty bass, disco guitar licks and cut-up vocal snippets. Over on side B, 'House Bullet' is a similarly tough but stripped-back affair in which acid house era vocal samples, TB-303 motifs and tight synth stabs ride an energetic, non-stop beat.
Review: Second-wave Chicago house mainstay DJ Sneak has been around for years but is currently at the top of his game after an almost decade long hiatus. He nods to that in the title of this new EP, 'Still Jackin'', on In The Future. It kicks off 'Going Back To My House' and with some underlapping bass and nice roughshod kicks while industrial metal hits up top bringing some balance. 'Still Jackin' has reverb-drenched drums and crispy hits that make for perfect mid-tempo body music and 'Can I Get Ahhh Feeling' brings some more diffuse, soul-infused vibes and late-night warmth. 'String Me Up' shuts down with a blend of textured stabs, winky beats and uneasy atmospheres.
Review: New imprint Aliens on Wax will be a label to watch this year, with the Chicago-based stable promising releases from the likes of Kevin Saunderson, Roland Clark and Bad Boy Bill. Fittingly, it's a long-serving hometown hero - the one and only DJ Sneak - who inaugurates the imprint via a typically club-focused four-tracker. He begins with 'Gettin' Ghetto', a rolling and hypnotic house loop jam in his familiar style, before opting for stomping drums, raw electronic motifs, sweat-soaked percussion fills and effects aplenty on the breathless and trippy 'I Beat That Ghetto'. Over on the reverse we're treated to two takes on 'Spirit Taker': a deliciously tracky, psychedelic and warehouse-ready 'Dub' (track 3) and the marginally more action-packed original version (track 4).
Review: After a three-year break, DJ Sneak and Tripmastaz renew their partnership as Raretwo Inc, in the process making their bow on the latter Respect The Graft imprint. As you'd expect from two masters of their craft, the 33 Chambers EP is packed to the rafters with chunky, bass-heavy and sample-rich deep house workouts. Check first the jazzy, sub-heavy bounce of 'Trac 4 Kenny', before getting your ears around the muscular chunkiness of 'Aaw Lawwd', where rasping blues-man vocal snippets and tight loops ride a bustling beat and booming bassline. Elsewhere, 'Trac 4 Rick' is a lightly druggy, disco-speckled slab of locked-in deep house science, while 'XTC' is a trippy, tech-tinged late-night roller with effects aplenty and lashings of dubbed-out synth sounds.
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