CASERTA

Review: Massachusetts-based producer (and Bridge Boots main man) Joseph Caserta has a way of taking classics and introducing them to the dancefloor in a completely different way. Instead of reintroducing classics, from now on he introduces you to new ones. The first offering is 'Most High' featuring The Reverend Just Blaze. Rev Blaze comes with an uplifting sermon in his unmistakable vocal over a bed of energising horns, flutes, vibes and strings. Over on the flip, he goes deeper into the night on the soulful and emotive second part.

Review: Caserta is a man of many talents, though his greatest strength is arguably his ability to craft killer new cuts featuring vocals from classic cuts. On this latest "45", the producer has his wicked way with the vocals from T.S Monk's 1980 cut 'Candidate For Love', first adding it to a dreamy, spacey, string-sporting mid-tempo deep-house backing track on the A-side 'Head-Nodding Mix'. It's rather good and as well made as you'd expect. The flipside 'Footwork Mix' keeps up Caserta's tradition of putting a more radical reworking on the flip. In this instance, snippets of cut-up vocal ride a filthy analogue bassline and a heavy, handclap heavy drum machine rhythm. It's basically warehouse-ready ghetto-house, Caserta style, and that's a very good thing indeed.

Review: Joseph Caserta is rather good at creating brand new, under-the-radar remixes of tracks from soul greats, frequently delivering versions that add the original vocal acapellas to new backing tracks rich in reference vintage US house and garage. Ordinarily he signposts them a little, naming them things like 'Luther', 'Teddy' and 'Martin', but this time round the samples used are a little more subtle. As a result, it's his fine backing tracks that for once take centre stage. '114 BPM' is an energy-packed affair in which impassioned preacher vocals rise above a bed of wriggly TB-303 lines, bubbly electronics and unfussy drums, while '108 BPM' is a sparse, stripped-back and deliciously bass-heavy number that sits somewhere between beatdown, deep house and acid house.

Review: Joseph Caserta's latest sneaky seven-inch is a sequel of sorts to his 2015 single 'Ricky', a deliciously hazy and groovy deep house jam that showcased breathy spoken word snippets from disco-soul lothario Rick James. This time round, the Boston-based producer and KON collaborator has decided to rework James' classic 'Give It To Me Baby' in honour of the track's 40th birthday. He presents a fabulous multi-track edit on side A, rightfully showcasing James' brilliant vocals, Latin-inspired horn lines and colourful synth sounds. He totally re-invents the track on the flip, placing snippets of James' vocals at the heart of a dark, dense, organ-rich early morning house workout.

Review: Caserta is legendary digger Kon's long time engineer, and he sure does have a wealth of tricks up his own sleeve. Here he gets to tackle his own super 7" on the Bridge Boots label and first off he serve sup a lovely take on a Stevie Wonder tune. 'Stevie?' (Caserta Sunday Saint mix) has mid-tempo grooves rolling away nicely beneath exquisite synth work and a well-treated vocal from the man himself. JoDaCe steps up on the flip for a Saturday Sinner mix that is more driving and ready for the club. The bass is rugged, the vocals more looped and freaky, the effect just as brilliant but in different ways.

Review: Last year Caserta and friends had their wicked way with a classic Luther Vandross acapella, brilliant re-framing the soul maestro in a late 1980s NYC club style. A year on they're at it again on 'Luther 2', which naturally repurposes another superb performance from the legendary vocalist. On the A-side, Vandross's vocal rides a smooth revivalist disco groove created by an all-star cast including Serge Gamesbourg (bass) and Natasha Diggs (piano, Fender Rhodes). It's a genuinely impressive revision that sounds like it could have been recorded sometime in the early 1980s (despite being made during lockdown). Diggs plays an even bigger role on the flip, a hazy and groovy deep house version in which she adds her own sassy spoken word vocals in reaction to the Vandross acapella.

Review: Having previously worked his magic on classic cuts from Diana Ross, Luther Vandross and Teddy Pendergrass - among others - Bridge Boots boss Caserta has now moved on to Marvin Gaye. He's grabbed the acapella from a classic song - in this case one of Gaye's duets with Diana Ross, "My Mistake (Was To Love You)"- and incorporated it into a brand new track. The A-side "Casey Mistake Mix" sits somewhere between early '80s boogie and the mid-80s proto-house sound created by Boyd Jarvis, Timmy Regisford and Paul Simpson. Interestingly, Gaye and Ross's vocals fit it like a glove. The flipside "Dub That Got Away" is an altogether more bumpin' garage-house workout rich in cut-up vocals snippets and wobbly analogue bass.

Review: Studio surgeons Caserta & Lucky Ry have been busy revisiting a dance floor classic that they now serve up as two different remakes. Once again it is a blue-eyed gem that forms the source material for the pair to impress with their own versions. The "70's Mix" is a laid back soul gem with big horns and smooth, smoochy vocals that will get any bar grooving. Over on the flip, the "80's Mix", has bigger drums and more tiny percussive textures bumping things up while the vocal is passed through a vocoder for that perfect future-retro feel.