Tags: Ghetto House

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: 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: For the latest missive on his 90s house inspired Theory of Swing label, producer-turned-imprint founder Davide Disanto (best known as St David) has donned the alternative DJ Stenn alias and joined forces with No Hype DJ's partner DJ Stanic (AKA Saverio Ricci). What they've delivered is rooted in their joint love of Dance Mania releases of the 90s and the driving, bumping and frequently heavy sound of DJ Sneak. So, the redlined beats, fizzing electronics and jacking drum fills of 'Houz Party' is followed by the chopped-up vocal snippets and pounding grooves of 'Crazy Wild', the acid-fired peak-time sleaze of 'Work That Pussy' and the jacking body music of 'Loose My Headz'. Proper sweat-soaked club jams - more please!