NICKODEMUS Vinyl & CDs

Review: Brooklyn's Wonderwheel is kind of like an institution by now; a label which has been delivering high levels of quality since the early 00s, and who is showing absolutely no signs of slowing down. In fact, the imprint has only managed to develop and nurture their tribalistic style of the years, and it's fair to say that they have successfully managed to create a Wonderwheel 'sound'; heavy, club-friendly deep house with subtle Afro nuances. This new EP, Turntables On Ipanema, is a collaborative effort by a series of familiar names: DJ G's wonderfully tropical house ballad "Samba De Terra" leads the 12", and is followed by Simbad's darker, more broken house groove called "Detroit De Janeiro", a perfect blurring of the sounds of the two American cities. Over on the B-side, "BerimBOOM" by Nickodemus and Simbad is a warm, beat-heavy deep house tune, and Zeb's "Space Forest" winds the tempo down to a sweet, mid-paced groove with magnificently dubby harmonies, and a balearic kinda feel.

Review: Last year, Wonderwheel Recordings founder returned to Turntables on the Hudson with The Remix Machine, a vast digital compilation (and eight-track vinyl sampler) featuring some of the countless reworks he's completed since the 1990s. This second 12" expands on that set, serving up six more of the New York-based producer's favourite re-rubs. There's plenty to set the pulse racing throughout, from the rolling Cuban house business of his Megablast tweak ('La Isla'), and a low-slung, d&b-influenced Latin breaks take on OVEOUS & QVLN, to a suspenseful slab of psych-funk-goes house (the New Yorker's tweak of 'Yiorti' by Antois Antonio), and even some bouncy, low-tempo Balkan beats (Balkan Bump's 'Codek America'). Hot global fusion business!

Review: Nickodemus has always enjoyed skipping between musical styles, with previous releases touching on everything from hip-hop and Latin beats to reggae, ska, jazz and broken beat. This time round, he's decided to turn his hand to good, old-fashioned house music. "In My House", featuring the distinctive vocals of former Naked Music chanteuse Lisa Shaw, is a loose but driving number, where fuzzy, low-slung guitars and clipped electric bass notes are smothered in tech-house electronics and warehouse-friendly stabs. Art of Tones provides the flipside remixes, delivering a heavily electronic deep house Remix before serving up a deeper and dreamier Dub version that makes great use of Shaw's freestyle vocalizing. The EP's bonus cut, loose jazz-house shuffler "Funk That", may be the best of the lot.

Review: This is a global single with a great story that starts with an afro-funk groove made by Italian Jah Sazzah. He wanted a vocal for it so turned to Nickodemus who handed his own touches and then sent it Grammy-nominated Colombian vocalist Jimena Angel. The result is a vibrant Afro tune with vivid melodies. Remixer Poirier is a legend in Latin music circles. The Montreal man has formerly been associated with Ninja Tune and is synonymous with lots of classy remixes and fresh takes on a modern Afro-Caribbean sound. This is another one that reworks the ring into a more bouncy and infectious sound with gorgeous vocals and a clean arrangement that allows the drums and perc to shine.

Review: Both Nickodemus and the Wonderwheel imprint are from NYC, and both parties know how to lay down some pure, hypnotic goodness when it comes to house. This time, the former is joined by Alsarah, who provides the mystical, charming Eastern vocals over the deep, progressive beats of "The Crow", a vibrant house tune for the big room; Saangan does his best to inject a little more techno sensibility into the tune. On the flip, "Alkoan Kulu Bidoor" heads into broken beat territories with its slower, sloppier beats, once again guided by Alsarah's arabic spoken word, and iZem provides the 'umph' by layering a rolling, glitchy blend of percussion into the mix. Solid.

Review: Bringing a guaranteed dose of sunshine to your record bag, Nickodemus is back on Wonderwheel and Turntables On The Hudson with another dazzling trip through cumbia and other Latin styles shot through with his particular brand of beats. The New York-based producer knows how to balance the traditional wow and flutter of acts like Preservation Hall Jazz Band and Gabriele Poso with some club ready thump, giving you a generous helping of eight beautiful, flowing jams that can absolutely kick it on a big system. None of the original charm is lost, but Nickodemus also manages to feed plenty of his dubby flair into the likes of Quantic Y Flowering Inferno's 'No Soy Del Valle', winding up in a very cool collection of Latin party rockers.