Review: Theo Parrish lays down a marker for a long overdue fifth album, apparently due out later this year, with the sublime Footwork 12". Named in reference to the dance as opposed to the breakneck offshoot of Ghetto House, "Footwork" is a sublime slab of Theo with many of his trademark production touches. Think lightly brushed percussion, meandering bassline that juts out with an odd funk, and subtle yet sumptuous musical touches, all topped off by a gruff "let me see your footwork baby" croon. Those Theo fans out there that like the man to get a bit rugged will be all over "Tympanic Warfare" too, where off the grid polyrhythms cannon around the channels, augmented by an ugly bassline and dexterous keys.
Review: SEX (remixes) makes for another triumphant 12" from the uber prolific FXHE stable and further smears the edges of expectation when it comes to the singular Omar S. Once again utilising the silky vocal delivery of singer L Renee, the four tracks here take divergent stylistic routes but each is magnificent. Keen listeners of Benji B's Radio 1 show will have heard the Conant Garden Posse version on a recent Big Strick guest mix, a devilishly dirty riposte to the Ghetto House aesthetic which has L Renee's vocals gliding over a snapping, raw house beat. Alongside this are two variants done in collaboration between Omar S and Aaron Fit Siegel which sound like they've been particularly inspired by soundtrack to Drive. Check the final Mack & Bewick remix for some detuned analogue nightmare set to a rippling electro beat.
Review: As the sweary, confrontational title suggests, this four-tracker from Detroit hero Omar-S is like a musical expansion pack for his much-discussed recent album, F*ck Resident Advisor. The no-nonsense Detroiter starts in fine fashion with 'Gonna Love You', a jaunty, piano-sporting peak-time loop jam crafted from old school vocal samples and snippets from a killer disco record, before reaching for cosmic synth sounds, lilting melodies and a melancholic mood on the starry deep house jam 'Bread Over Bed'. He subtly doffs a cap to Dance Mania style ghetto-house on the quirky, club-ready cheekiness of 'Shut Up', before smothering a classic house groove with heady hand percussion and snaking synth lines on dense and energetic closing cut 'Sloppy Joe'.
Review: For obvious reasons, Paranoid London tend not to say much about their popular 'Pledits', series, which see them rework, sample, combine and breathe new life into a variety of classic cuts. What we can say is that every single track in the series so far bangs hard and has been caned by DJs with taste. 'Music's Insane', the opening cut from their latest batch of reworks, is another weighty workout - a restless Chicago jack-attack blessed with moody pitched-down vocal snippets, 8-bit electronics and a mind-mangling bassline. On 'From The Back', they add reverb-laden vocal snippets to a hybrid beatbox electro/Chicago house beat, while 'Poignant Dexter' is a breathlessly energetic, drum-machine driven chunk of acid house/ghetto-house fusion that will ignite peak-time dancefloors.
Review: Hot Creations is one of the driving forces of contemporary and accessible club music - a workhorse that keeps on serving up fresh sounds to power global dancefloors. This new one from Gabriele Toma is another hard-to-ignore EP that kicks off with a perfect blend of tech, house and funk - the drums are tight, the bassline has plenty of grit and the rapped vocals are sure to cut through. 'Move Your Body' is another full-throttle and turbo-charged tech pumper, 'Muevete' brings some sunny Latin percussive flair and 'Magic Flute' brings some dark and late-night edge to a varied EP.
Review: Set to be a collab for the ages, Special Request (Paul Woolford) and Novelist (Kwadwo Kankam) team up to capitalise on the cultural residues of bassline, grime and house with 'Sliver'. Pairing Novelist's unmistakable cadence and flow with classic grime square-waves and booty house-esque drums, 'Sliver' has been a highlight of both Special Request and label boss Peggy Gou's recent sets, climaxing in a tempo change designed to turn the dancefloor inside out. As potent in intimate dark rooms as it is festival main stages, you'll be hearing this one all summer and beyond.
Review: Tyree Cooper is the man who will forever be synonymous with hip house - a sound he pioneered and that no one has ever basically bettered, even though we feel there sure is scope for more people to try and add something to the short-lived sound. Here he classic Future Reecoopd EP gets reissued by Chicago Vinyl and it is a raw and ghetto-fried outing with bumping analogue drums and chopped up vocal fragments. 'Gimme A Break' is a standout with its fizzing and distorted energy and 'Git Phreaky' rides a nice low slung sound with booming kicks.
Review: We'd have never guessed that the (originally) dubstep producer Loefah would land a release on the principally juke and footwork label Teklife and decide, of all things, to give them three acid techno tunes. The linkages aren't as tenuous as it sounds, though: anything more than a cursory listen will unveil the unmistakable Chicago house influences on this otherwise London-born burrer. With the 197 bus to Croydon held firmly in mind, both 'Jump Start' and 'Nines' lay down respectively riveting fidgets, and recall lost fantasies of juke competitions in deep South London community centres, that in reality never happened - though we still know, feel, that deep down there is a more primal dialogue at play between the two cities. On track 3, this dialogue is extended with an official collab with ghetto house pioneer DJ Deeon, whose overt displays of sample-vocalled sexuality put the genre on the map; here, though, he rerubs Loefah's A-side, tubing his acid line through a veritable warp-sped drive, and causing the track to take its fullest flight.
Review: As the sweary, confrontational title suggests, this four-tracker from Detroit hero Omar-S is like a musical expansion pack for his much-discussed recent album, F*ck Resident Advisor. The no-nonsense Detroiter starts in fine fashion with 'Gonna Love You', a jaunty, piano-sporting peak-time loop jam crafted from old school vocal samples and snippets from a killer disco record, before reaching for cosmic synth sounds, lilting melodies and a melancholic mood on the starry deep house jam 'Bread Over Bed'. He subtly doffs a cap to Dance Mania style ghetto-house on the quirky, club-ready cheekiness of 'Shut Up', before smothering a classic house groove with heady hand percussion and snaking synth lines on dense and energetic closing cut 'Sloppy Joe'.
Review: Zach Witness has plenty of fun on this new series of edits, remixes and bootlegs. They tap into all the cornerstones of house music - gospel vocals, ghetto grooves, soul, funk and deepness. 'Let House Reign' is a simple but effective opener with vocals that take you straight to church, while 'Lil Freak Mafia' is much more sleazy and dirty with its stacked up drums and bumping bass. Elsewhere there are big filter gems likes 'Int'l House Anthem', juke-adjacent cuts like 'Tom Ford Workout' and playful party starters like 'Trill House ENT'. A really useful collection, all in all.
Review: One of Detroit's finest, Lauren Flax aligns with the Chiwax label for a debut offering of ultra-rough, juking, retrofuturistic daydreams in four tracks. Like a rose blossoming from a thorny stem, this EP starts out raw and slowly fans out into the subtler tricks of multilayering and accoutrement. 'Jack The Haus' is the tweezy, 16-bit hardware jam; then there's 'The Cheeky Whistle Song', which, compared to the first track, betrays a contrasting taste for cascading arps and subtle melodies in the surround mix. 'D-Troit' returns somewhat to the initial Detroit bounce mood, while Lis Sarroca's remix rounds things off with a softer, out-your-face breaks-house beeper.
Review: Deep Shopping has us filly our trolleys once more with plenty of top-shelf goods here. Mister Bellini is the one on the till and his elastic, bouncy techno is all about pure thrills. The restless and characterful 'What What?!' opens up with plenty of joyfulness. The sound design throughout these tunes is fresh and fun but never silly. 'Stop The Buz' is a little tougher but still with some tripped-out motifs, then 'yes' is a hyperspeed spin-out. On the flip side are squelchy future bass bangers, police sirens and low-key basement tracks. Brilliant EP.
It Smells Like Bootyhole On Mars Bring Me Back To Earth! (3:53)
Review: DJ Pirna's new EP has a rather unreconstructed title in 'It Smells Like Bootyhole On Mars Bring Me Back To Earth!' but there is nothing wrong with the beats. The six tunes are all sizzling dancefloor workouts that draw on juke, house, footwork and electro and first up is the soulful sound of 'Where You Are Is Not Who You Are' before 'Trashman' gets all wonky. 'Freak Show' is a thrill gin and high-speed electro looper, while deeper atmospheres pervade the slower 'Cleanin' Up', jazzy overtones of 'Real Thang' and then last of all is the title cut with its spinning hi-hats, funky breaks and boogie bass.
Review: Darker Than Wax welcomes back Malik Hendricks for a new EP that was recorded in Brooklyn in 2020 and 2021 by the American-born, Lisbon-based producer. And it marks something of a shift in his musical journey as he moves away from the sample-heavy sound he is known for and towards more organic grooves with hints of Midwest funk and techno. There is an electro flavour to the opener, sleazy ghetto house flourish to 'Fiyahverkx' and broken beat minimalism to 'Totem.' On the flip comes 'The Money Dance' which is the best of the lot - a soul-drenched and elastic house jam with quality chords and keys.
Review: The game-changing and sub-genre-defining house label Dance Mania has assembled some of its most noted legends on one limited edition and translucent green 12" here. DJ Thadz is one of them and is a Windy City veteran known for his dynamic DJ sets and high-energy productions. He serves up two raw, jacked-up ghetto jams in 'Let Me Squeeze 'Em' and 'Freak Hoe' while DJ Slugo keeps it loopy and bumpy with 'How We Do' and 'Last Of The Year'. DJ Phats completes this bawdry EP with the juke-style energy of 'Booty Anthem' and jazz-laced sweatathon, 'Where The Sluts'.
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