Review: This third volume of instrumentals continues the faultless Isle of Jura label's deep dive into dub versions and beyond. Side one takes in references from UK street soul and reggae and features two late-'80s tracks by Howard Hill with machine-led rhythms, rudeboy reggae skank and soulful pads. Protek's 'I Love to Dance With You' is a proto-house gem featured in a Jura Soundsystem mix and here it gets a loving re-edit by The Nightlark. Side B includes an instrumental-driven track with spacey FX from The Cool Notes' and Ilija Rudman's 'Dub 4 Love' which is a knowing nod to acid house's golden era.
Peter Seiler - "Timebend" (feat Sheryl Hackett) (4:32)
Eoism - "Ultraverse" (5:00)
Voertuig - "Cego" (5:19)
Voertuig - "808 Ambient Jazz" (3:45)
Eoism - "Even Flow" (5:45)
Review: Colkin from Raw Soul and Mauke Club sets the tone on this new FUTUR compilation, which has been curated by Benedikt Meger with a spherical acid house meditation. Peter Seiler's track, a standout from the reissue of his debut album Flying Frames, features Sheryl Hackett's soulful vocals and merges song structure with jazz improvisation. Eoism from Pulse Drift, Undersound, and Inch By Inch delivers low-swung electro flavours perfect for sunset vibes while the B-side opens with Voertuig of Tonal Oceans and Cobra Club who presents a seriously raw acid jam followed by an experimental, jazzy piece, reminiscent of the 90s downtempo era. 'Eoism' closes things with a floating, futuristic banger, going to make a well rounded (in more ways than one) and ultimately very useful piece of vinyl.
Review: 'Suite For Chick' is a heartfelt tribute to the late jazz legend Chick Corea. This 12" was assembled to reimagine classics like 'City Gate, Rumble,' 'Time Track,' 'Hymn of the Heart' and Return to Forever's 'Romantic Warrior.' It finds Bangkok-based Maarten Goetheer collaborating with Thailand's jazz virtuoso Pong Nakornchai and blending Wurlitzer chords, Moog basslines, ARP leads and Rhodes phasings. Inspired by his jazz-pianist father, Maarten fuses classic jazz with modern genres like techno, cosmic disco and ambient for a fresh take on jazz fusion. These electrifying interpretations honour Corea's pioneering legacy in jazz and fusion from his groundbreaking work with Miles Davis to founding Return to Forever.
What Is Tekno (Grey Sky At Montmartre As Always mix) (7:59)
Calm Before The Calm (5:59)
Review: Sasha Pervukhin explores the feelings of Heartbreak At Montmartre on this latest slab for the Carpet & Snares label out of Portugal. It kicks off with some well swung tech house drums and a tight bassline thats detailed with some dusty percussion. Once that one gets you marching, 'Your Unhappy Face' brings some late night jazz house vibes with liquid chords and zippy motifs that are nice and loose, and 'What Is Tekno' (Grey Sky At Montmartre As Always mix) then layers in balmy cosmic chords as it rides a classic tech house beat. 'Calm Before Calm' taps into a 90s house sound with a hint of garage skip in the drums.
Review: Star Creature is very much leading from the front right now if you like cosmic disco. Tim Zawada's label is back with another delicious dose of the stuff here as Plastic Bamboo heads out on a crime jazz exploration of the outer reaches of our galaxy. His lithe beats and rugged drums are laced up with marvellous synths that are ever on the move. They shine bright and bring real sugary rushes of joy as curious narratives and intergalactic intrigue come thick and fast. Amongst the big bright cuts are some more mellow moments like the wonderful 'A Scene At The Sea' with its hints of Afro percussion. Delightful.
Souled Out (Joe Claussell The Cosmic Arts interpretation mix) (8:10)
Souled Out (Joe Claussell Joaquin Sacred Rhythm version) (13:59)
Souled Out (Joe Claussell Joaquin Deep version FNL) (8:20)
Feed The Fire (Atjazz remix) (5:28)
Feed The Fire (Musclecars Dream dub) (9:05)
Review: Audrey Powne's eagerly anticipated debut album already had us all 'Souled Out', and now we find ourselves served more soul food than our dharmas can handle, with this new remix bundle from Atjazz, Joe Claussell and Musclecars. First comes Claussell with three exquisite and spiritual remixes, each highlighting unique elements of Audrey's original production. Joaquin's Deep Version is quintessential Claussell, merging the bassy textures of a vintage King Tubby dub with vibrant percussion and entraining beats. The 'Sacred Rhythm Mix' is especially apical and peaktime, weaving a threnody of layers that culminate in a boogied-out crescendo. Then come two new versions of Powne's album cut 'Feed The Fire', first by jazzdance maven Atjazz, then by the New York duo Musclecars.
Review: Ron Moreli's famously sleazy LIEs welcomes back one of its regular artists in Lipelis, this time with his TMO project alongside extra goodness from keyboardist Eugene Piankov. The pair really go for it from the off, with anthemic house stomper 'Goes D Jam' offering up squealing 303 and 909s that ring out into the cosmos over crunchy drums. '112 Bright Jam' is slower, deeper, more heartfelt with its tender piano chords and 'Goes C Jam' is an acid laced piano celebration. Last of all is '107 Dark Jam' which is a heads down stomp with acid meditations for grotty warehouse spaces at 5am.
Review: One of New York deep house's foremost day ones returns to the limelight with a fresh 12-track mini-album, showing the yutes how it's done with an onslaught of unlikely-sounding beats, cuts and breaks. All tracks on Hear are loose and lackadaisical, often forgoing the need so behooved by many house music producers to get the transient design - the snap of the hit, the length of the tail - just right; Joey's drums are wide and ungated, seeming to prove the point that minutiae don't tend to make a tune. It's instead the ineffable quality of "nailing the vibe", the nuts and bolts of which we can't claim to know, that convince us of Pal Joey's expertise. 'We Show Off' is the gem on this self-released album, with its dreamy, vocoded and slowed acapella, crude car-horn synths and glossed-out backing washes.
Review: Electronic duo Pale Blue releases their highly anticipated second album 'Maria' on Crosstown Rebels. With eight captivating tracks, the long-player takes listeners on an immersive electronic journey. Mike Simonetti (Italians Do It Better) and Elizabeth Wight (Silver Hands) formed the outfit in 2015, gaining acclaim with their debut album. It showcases Wight's personal experiences and thoughts through her lyrics, accompanied by techno-infused melodies that lean towards rock influences. From dreamlike melodies to haunting productions, the album seamlessly blends electronica with pop touches.
Review: Theo Parrish and Maurissa Rose are Detroit musical veterans (even though Parrish was actually born in Chicago) and they have worked together on a number of superb singles in the last few years. After that fruitful start to their working relationship they finally flourish into a new full length that arrives soon in the form of Free Myself, It arrives, as you would expect, on triple vinyl on Parrish's own Sound Signature label, but also here as a CD. It is a lovely deep house exploration with smooth vocals of Rose - which come in the form of a soulful stream of consciousness - over Parrish's dusty, hypotonic beats.
Review: Theo Parrish is giving his new album with Maurissa Rose the full treatment - serving it up on his preferred vinyl, but also as a CD and here a cassette on his own label Sound Signature. It is a complete coming together of these two revered Detroit musical talents following a string of great singles with one another since 2019. As you can expect, the grooves are dusty, complex and rooted in house but with plenty of influences from soul, funk and jazz. The vocals from Rose are as smooth as you like and take the form of soulful streams of consciousness. Utterly vital.
Meftah - "When The Sun Falls" (feat Mohammed Meftah) (7:16)
De'Sean Jones - "Psalm 23" (2:13)
Ian Fink - "Moonlight" (Duality/Detroit live version) (8:05)
KESSWA - "Chasing Delerium" (feat Nova Zaii) (3:33)
Specter - "The Upper Room" (10:23)
Raj Mahal - "Hudsons" (2:01)
Raybone Jones - "Green Funk" (6:09)
Whodat & Sophiyah E - "Don't Know" (5:25)
Howard Thomas - "Experiment 10" (4:33)
MBtheLight - "aGAIN" (T edit) (2:48)
Sterling Toles - "Janis" (4:05)
Review: Theo Parrish is a world-renowned name in the global Detroit house and techno game, and he's thrown a fascinating curveball as the latest entrant for the acclaimed DJ-Kicks series. Mr. Parrish has gone above and beyond the duties of most invitees - rather than just licensing tracks from his favourite artists and big-name-friends, he's asked his own community from Detroit to each produce their own mixable tracks, exclusively for the comp. What's more, these are hardly established names - they're organic connections to Parrish, not occupying the top layer of attention and recognition. Bits from H-Fusion, Jon Dixon, Donald Lee Roland II, Ian Fink and Raybone Jones all dominate this anarchic new deconstruction of the otherwise exclusivist mix series.
She's Bliss On The Dancefloor (feat Grant & Nata) (6:03)
Rivers (feat Jesus Gonsev) (5:04)
Dream Delivery (4:55)
Deeper Imports (4:39)
Review: Passport is the inter-Atlantic duo of George Btp Dan Piu and Roger K. Versey and their all-new album is a truly global voyage of musical adventure. Wonderful Elixir is all about seeking the deeper grooves in dance music from a range of different genres. It's a seamless fusion of jazz and acid, deep house and street beat with special appearances from DJ Nata, Jesus Gonsev, and Grant. The likes of 'Prelude Turismo 97' is a Balearic beauty, 'Oceans of Emotional Wealth' is a shimmying groove with sensuous vocals and lush keys and 'Dream Delivery' is more prickly for those late-night dances.
Review: A cool piece of post-Apartheid South African pop history, and a major success for the blog-turned label Awesome Tapes From Africa. Originally re-discovered by the site in 2010, it's taken the label three years to track down Penny Penny - who is now a South African politician! Unashamed early 90s dance-informed pop music with a Shangaan twist, it's a fine balance of catchy chants, warm synth work and lush female harmonies. Completely of its time... But that's the idea. Stunning.
Liminal Space (feat Yana & Einarindra - Riffz remix) (7:08)
Tribes (Tropiki remix) (3:50)
Metal Fear Bolid (Molehead remix) (2:58)
Headshell (feat Dizkret & DJ Eprom - TVB remix) (2:54)
Zbywasz (feat Dominika Plonka - True Dat Re-groove) (5:38)
Review: U Know Me present a fresh, modern object of intrigue, with Balance Remixed, which takes Pepe's 2023 album of the same time and makes it over into another full-length vinyl only release, throwing back to the days of vinyl only DJ sets, which were necessitated by technological limitation alone. DJ BLIK, Envee, Molehead, Riffz, Tropiki, true.dat, and TVB top up Pepe's original house, funk and disco blend with a brasher bass bisque, mastered and masterminded by cyborgish music titan Eprom. Spanning ever bassy tempo-set from 87 bpm to 164, we've a thrilling range of momentums here.
Review: Pilgrims of the Mind is the one and only album Vancouver's Stephane Novak released. It was back in 1997 and was a CD-only issue that now makes its debut on vinyl. The record fuses pop, downtempo, prog and house in a series of silky tunes high on emotion. It is awash with classic 90s melodies that are whimsical and dreamy, carefree and magical. Each track has a real sense of musicianship and adds up to a captivating listen overall - something all too many LPs of today seems to forget to focus on. In recent years this record has started to get some of the underground recognition it deserves, and this vinyl release will only hasten that positive contemporary reassessment.
Review: Led by Luke Solomon, The Legion of Boogie Down returns with their second album, Powerdance II, eight years after the success of their debut The Lost Art of Getting Down. Since then the collective has evolved by adding more experimental sounds to their vision of nightclub and basement music. This album continues their journey of genre-blending with the addition of Chris Penny, rising star Josh Ludlow, and original members Alinka and Lance Desardi. Featuring wild synths, drums and percussion from Holly Madge, this left-of-centre record offers a trippy mix of disco, funk and house that leads to a cosmic musical adventure in some style.
Review: Belgian singer and producer Bolis Pupul releases his first solo debut album 'Letter to Yu' following his smash success with fellow DEEWEE artist Charlotte Adigery 'Topical Dancer', a satirical, yet hard-hitting, exploration of spirituality, racism and identity that the two experienced in Ghent as children of immigrant families. If you're a fan of the production of songs like 'Mantra', then this project is for you. Still keeping the witty elements from 'Topical Dancer' the LP, a reference to a great emperor of Chinese history, 'Completely Half' opens up with Pupuls hallmark 80s synthpop style, partnered with the typically Belgian cerebral approach to music and allusions to his mixed-race heritage. Pupul's beats feel pensive, yet danceable and the more deep-in-thought cuts like 'Goodnight Mr Yi' benefit from they dynamic contrast with more in-your-face cuts like the blaring 'Kowloon' and its siren-like supersaws.
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