Fruit Merchant レコード& CD

Review: Four effervescent jackers from manx party starter Hidden Spheres. The opener 'Step To Me' is a slippery broken beat anthem landing somewhere between Alex Attias' smoove keys and DJ Haus' brash MIDI trumpet two-step, which lapses into the full pelt, swaggering 'Don't Front', which feels exactly like the kind of song you want to stride into the club to. Side two brings us two more orthodox sax workouts. The aptly named 'LUVR MAN' is a cheeky, slap n' tickle two steppa, while 'SO SXY' applies the blinkered focus of DJ Rashad's best breakdowns to a laid back house beat.

Review: There is a distinctly old school feel to the dark moods of this new deep house outing on Fruit Merchant from Hidden Spheres and Private Joy. 'Hold On Me' takes you back to the days of Adonis, Hercules and Tax Records with it intense emotion, humid atmospheres and menacing bassline. The drums are raw and jacking but the vocal brings a vital soulful and human edge. After that club mix comes the paired back instrumental, a deeper mix that smooths the edges and makes this more soft focus and cuddly. It's a gorgeous tune for loved-up floors.