HOUSEREVIEWS
BEN ARNOLD
ben.a.arnold@
gmail.com Forget Me Not
The Stronger EP Losing Suki 9.0
Typesun The PL (Behling & Simpson
Remix) Root Elevation
9.0
Luke Harney is Typesun, a producer, drummer and DJ from (where else?) Bristol. The original mix of this is a brave, beatless thing of compelling beauty. The vocal, provided by someone who wishes to remain anonymous for some baffling reason, is spellbinding, in the vein of Dwele or Peven Everett. That alone would be quite enough, generally, but to afford it relevance to the house page comes a mix from Behling & Simpson, also repping Bristol. This is the kind of track that makes people change what they think about house music. A track to convert the unbelievers.
95 North
Let Yourself Go Danse Club 9.0
No messing here from the peerless 95 North, the Washington DC house heads who dropped this garage jam originally back in 1995. Dusted down by Danse Club Records, it’s got new re-rubs from the likes of Leftroom main man Matt Tolfrey, Moodymanc and Brodanse, the pair behind the label. All embellish the groove nicely — Moodymanc in particular drops two solid dubs — but it’s the ‘Let Yourself Go Mix’ and the original that should cause the genuine hysteria. This is proper house music, so handle with care.
Arthur Oskan
Chromatic EP My Favorite Robot Records 8.0
Toronto’s Arthur Oskan has spent the past 20 years cementing his place in Canada’s electronic underground, counting the likes of Thoughtless Music and Ghostly International among the enthusiasts publishing his music. This debut for My Favorite Robot is studded with stuttering arpeggios and breaks laden with swelling euphoria (in particular during the epic EP closer ‘Adrift’). This release oozes class, swaggers with
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Garage par excellence from Forget Me Not. ‘Should Be Stronger’ is the linchpin, but ‘Big Tings’ wins out with a hoovering bassline sent from the gods.
Fur Coat feat Mel Blatt
Falls Away Crosstown Rebels 8.0
confidence and generally reckons it owns the place, which, to be fair, it probably does. Sturdy stuff.
Borai
Moonlight On The Malago Tasteful Nudes
8.5
Bristol by way of Chicago — now there’s a combination. Borai drops the very first release for the superbly-named new Illinois label Tasteful Nudes. You may also recall his sterling production work for the likes of Apple Pips, Will Saul’s Simple Records and the excellent Never Learnt. This is knee-tremblingly brilliant. The title track is masterfully put together, a chugging, fizzing anthem, but the flip, coming on all understated before dropping an old school drum loop atop the shimmering synths, will cause cold-blooded murder on the dancefloor.
Jacques Renault
Back To You Let’s Play House 9.0
Brooklyn’s Jacques Renault — of DFA and Rekids fame — unleashes disco hell on the label he runs with Nik Mercer and James Friedman, and it’s breathtaking. A pulsing dancefloor workout, it remains poker-faced throughout, teasing a sample around discoid percussion. The original would be perfectly sufficient, but gilding the lily is the Paradis remix on the flip, a stunning, ethereal version which has you locked in in seconds. If this isn’t the sound of the distant summer, then there’s something genuinely wrong with the world.
Justin Martin & Eats Everything
Feather Fight Hypercolour 8.0
A bassy dream-team assembles for Hypercolour, comprising Dirtybird
cohorts Justin Martin and the genial gent Eats Everything. Those familiar with the work of either will hardly be expecting something on the shy and retiring tip, but this is something else. The build-up lasts a full third of the track before dropping a scything, thundersome bassline. Over, ‘Harpy’ lulls you into thinking you’re safe, with lush, spacey pads. But then comes the menace, a rasping bass and irrepressibly funky percussion. There’s so much going on here, it’s dizzying.
KiNK vs Marc Romboy
Sampledelics Vol. 2 Systematic Recordings 8.5
Bulgaria’s KiNK and Marc Romboy go head-to-head a year after their last Sampledelic meeting, and it’s another smasher. ‘Over And Out’ comes complete with blazing Detroit pianos and a quite unexpected old school breakbeat taking things in the unmistakable direction of The Prodigy. But damn it, it works. On quite the opposite end of house music is ‘Delusion Of The Enemy’, a jittering, gently swelling jazz houser which is as understated and elegant as ‘Over And Out’ is brash and brassy.
Mr Tophat & Art Alfie
SDIK Baby Karlovak 8.5
This is the very first excursion for Swedish label Karlovak, from its own masterminds Mr Tophat & Art Alfie. Presumably these are not the names on their passports, but who knows? And who cares, frankly. No remixes, no shoe-horning all their acts onto one EP, these are simply two tracks which will lodge themselves into your bag/Rekordbox/iTunes for the forseeable future. Both ‘SDIK Baby’ and ‘Marlboro Lights’ are relentless and totally irresistible. The latter is so confident it doesn’t even have a bassline. Have that.
Yep, her from All Saints. Though to be fair, she’s spliced and diced throughout this unctuous groove from the Venezuelan pair’s album. Remixes come from DJ Sneak and Just Be.
QUICKIES Laura Jones
Sensoramic EP Visionquest 8.0
A gorgeous release from Laura Jones. ‘Let Me In’ is fragile and spooky, nailing the Visionquest sound with pinpoint accuracy. ‘Lose Myself’ is no slouch, either.
The Analogue Cops, Ryan Elliott & Alex Picone
Five EP Bass Culture Records 8.0
Big stuff from D’Julz’s Bass Culture imprint, with this triumvirate hooking up for four tracks of deep house hypnosis. ‘No Stress’, with its twanging cowbells, is a smasher.
BLM FEAR OF FLYING/NEVER LEARNT
01. ION LUDGWIG ‘Ugold Series 1’ Ugold Series “Three very playable tracks from Ion Ludwig in this package.”
02. IVANO TETELEPTA ‘Throwdown House’ Sudden Drop “Excellent two-tracker that suits all times of the night.”
03. PHILLIP BOSTON ‘State Of Play EP’ Btaim “Serious music with some serious basslines.”
04. KARIZMA ‘Kaytonik EP’ Hustle Music “An absolute favourite of mine.”
05. THE WALT J PROJECT ‘Love Is On My Side’ FIT “Classic house EP from 1996.”
06. DJ QU ‘Infect EP’ Strength Music “‘Swayzee’ being the one for me. Reminds me of that old Force Tracks sound.”
07. MIKE HUCKABY ‘My Life With The Wave’ SYNTH “‘Wavetable No.9’ is my favourite. It’s a hard-hitting deep tune. Heads-down
business!”
08. SYS ‘Monocle EP’ ESHU004 “Deep techno with hip-hop influences. Lovely!”
09. LAWRENCE ‘Kurama’ Pampa “The excellent Lawrence delivers one of my favourite-ever vinyls.”
10. STEVE O’SULLIVAN ‘Voodoo Woman’ Bluetrain “A classic from one of my favourite producers.”
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