REVIEWSKillerS
Stone Cold Killer — track of the month When you absolutely, positively, must decimate the dancefloor, this is the tune you need…
Franck Roger ‘Spread Love’ Circus Company
facebook.com/FranckRogerOfficial
PARISIAN-BASED Franck Roger is a man for whom deep house is a way of life. Producing since the turn of the millennium alongside the likes of DJ Roy and DJ Deep, having caught the house bug in the ‘90s as a teenager, his sound predates the current obsession with New Jersey US garage and other soulful swung sounds, digging into a rich vein of classicism shared by fellow countrymen such as Pépé Bradock, DJ Yellow and Paris Underground Trax.
As head of Real Tone Records, he was responsible for breaking the now-ubiquitous Maya Jane Coles to the world via the MK-esque chords of ‘What They Say’, as well as his own recent vocal anthem ‘After All’, heard from DC10 to Glade festival, a dreamy seven-minute ride of skipping hats, floating ethereal chords and forlorn sentiment co-written with singer Mandel Turner. With other recent notable releases including the likes of Burnski, Manik and Zakes Bantwini, as well as fellow countrymen Shonky and Terrence :Terry, these have been backed up by a solid catalogue of melodic floor-shakers, his ear for finely tuned house bombs never failing to unearth future classics and push fresh young talent from around the globe.
French label Circus Company has a similarly fine pedigree in the arena of new wave house. Having supported leftfield local acts such as neo-funkers dOP and stripping chanteur duo Nôze, as well as the likes of the idiosyncratic DJ Koze, French-speaking Canadian Guillaume & The Coutu Dumonts, San Fran Bay Area beatsmith Dave Aju and the much-hyped Nicolas Jaar, another
Francophile-sounding artist, their next album project is a long-player from Rogers himself.
As a tasty morsel to whet the appetite, and following his ‘Take You Up’ EP, ‘Spread Love’ arrives like a freshly seasoned hors d’oeuvre, full flavoured and leaving the mouth watering for more. Coming on like a lost record from Get Physical’s early days when electro-house was a subtle electronic reimagining of house, rather than the abrasive bleeping noise fest it’s become, the lead cut features a progressive chord sequence and messianic lead vocal proclaiming a message of love for all. Understated yet ecstatic, it’s a ‘moment’ track, unassuming and epic in equal measures and the biggest-sounding tune that Franck has released to date.
On the flipside, ‘Black Kiss’ finds him lifting the lid on his house organ once again, with the signature sound that has become synonymous with his name. Melancholic and in a minor key, it’s for darker, more introspective parts of the night when dancers are locked into their own groove, reverby looped vocal refrains lending a repetitive hypnotic quality to its tracky vibes.
It’s a short, sweet introduction to his underground leanings and bodes well for his fully realised vision on the album to come.
VitAl lABelLOWER EAST
lower-east.com
Who’s behind the label? Lee Brinx & Cozzy D.
Sounds like? “Our vast influences stem from house, garage, drum & bass, funk, disco, electronica and techno,” says Lee. “Our sound reflects a lot of fusion as well as referencing the past to create the future. At the end of the day, it’s whatever you make of it, so take a listen and hear for yourselves!”
Who’s on the label? Alexis Raphael, Alfred Taylor, Cozzy D, Dexter Kane, Floyd Lavine, Johnny Mikes, Lee Brinx, Michael Jansons, Puente & Rosch, Rebel, Wildkats.
Who’s playing it? “Sasha, Seth Troxler, Maceo Plex, Maya Jane Coles, MANDY, Claude
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www.djmag.com
VonStroke, Nic Fanciulli, X-Press 2, Solomun, Droog, Laura Jones and James Teej, just to name a few.”
How’s it evolving? “The original ethos behind Lower East was to have our own platform to push the music and artists that we truly believed in. We’ve been very focused on growing the label organically and thus are very proud to see the likes of Alexis Raphael, WildKats, Puente & Rosch, as well as ourselves, gaining more exposure through this progression.”
What’s next? “In June we have Alfred Taylor’s ‘Akagi EP’ including a Cozzy D & Lee Brinx remix. In July, Alexis Raphael will drop his eagerly-awaited ‘The Message/Rumble In The Jungle’ and then in August we will release our second compilation, ‘Inner Circles Vol.2’, which will feature tracks from Alexis Raphael, Cozzy D, Lee Brinx, Johnny Mikes, Rebel, Viadrina and more,” Lee signs off.
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