MARK GRUSANE Vinyl & CDs

Review: Chicago house luminary Mark Grusane is on a prolific roll right now, with records flying out the past two years on all kinds of labels. After serving them the Bad Cavity EP last year, Grusane is back on HEAT AMSTERDAM with another four joints from the wild frontier of what house and techno should be. There's a little of Relief Records' renegade spirit in the rawness of these tracks, and more than a little inherent wonkiness which will find favour with DJs questing for a specific kind of unhinged groove. Just marvel at how 'Take You There' edges right to the back of the groove without falling off the edge, while 'Something Out Of The Ordinary' deals in low down dirty pings and rugged drum bump. 'Shazam' is an alarm calling out from the depths of space, and 'Time Warp' happily jacks up the intensity for something bordering on acid techno without the obvious 303 tropes in place.

Review: DJ and producer Mark Grusane is a hails from Chicago and is co-owner of Mr. Peabody Records, which specialises in rare and obscure vinyl from around the world. While many prior releases have appeared due to that affiliation, 'Book Me For Your Birthday Party' hears the cream of his music released for German label Bless You. Four raw, sexual, jacking, jukey house music cuts appear, showing off the kind of production antics Grusane gets up to while enjoying his off hours at the record store. While they're at least ten years old, we're sure Grusane still has access to the same inner clown that not only allows him to be such a great party guest, but also lets him make such heaters.

Review: The third instalment of NeighbourSoul rhythm's limited vinyl-only treatment of space-age nu-disco and funk isn't to be messed with. Straight to the point, the opening 'Love Attack' is a fast-paced guitar-led disco-funk banger - no warm-up, just dancing. Track 2, 'Dream Machine' is out-of-this-world, literally, with its vocal cosmic pinings of an android-dominated future scape against a relentless synth pattern.

Side B brings us back down to earth, to the middle of the night in the dance hall, 'Never Gonna Let You Go' is a mid-tempo groover that commands your joints to keep busting shapes no matter how tired your body tells you to feel. The guitar leads you into a false sense of security before the vocal adlibs and hypnotic brass pump the fever directly into you. 'San Fran Jubilee' closes the four-track, a nostalgic and sweeping crescendo of uplifting mid-tempo disco with some damn good sax.