Ricardo Miranda

Review: Ricardo Miranda's "Urbanism" will be familiar to those smart minds out there who indulged in last year's illuminating Rick Wilhite curated Rush Hour comp Vibes New & Rare Music. Sensing the potential for further exploration, Noble Square embellish the gliding utopian ode to Chicago with two new remixes whilst also slipping in an all new Miranda production for good measure. Miranda himself remixes the track as part of the collaborative Chiba project with Argentinean Hernan Cronner which realigns the track down an overtly muggy outer galactic Detroit electro path, with urgent stabs matched by the relentless march of drum machines in full effect. In contrast, Eargasmic's Daryl Cura opts for a subaqueous rattle, with the swathes of emotive chords on an upwards bent - furthermore the gradual interweaving of a hypnotic synth wiggle truly impresses!

Review: Oh yes, Rawax casual Ricardo Miranda comes through with his latest EP for the German raw house label, and as you'd expect, it's four tracks of grizzly percussion stabs and warm low-ends. "Altered Feel" is an ode to much of Chicago Trax's output thanks to its deep, jacking tone, while "Deep Wax" is a little funkier and loungier in tone. On the flip, "Up On The Scene" goes for the old-school vibes, whereas its drum version draws more heavily on the percussion in what is a serious tool for the more adventurous of you DJ's. Dopeness guaranteed.

Review: Noble Square celebrates its 10 year anniversary with a repress of Chicago's Ricardo Miranda & K Joy's 2011 EP. This 12" features the dusty, deep and soulful blues of "Do You Want Me" which is in the vein of masters like Nick Holder and Kenny Dixon Jr. On the flip we have the dirty late night acid jack of "The DJ Knows What I Like" featuring squeaky synths, rusty rhythm patterns and Joy's sultry come hither vocals. According to the label, 'the original master reels were lost so the YONURICAN SOUL Brotha made all new music.' Noble Square Recordings is a showcase of memorable dance music that seeks to stay grounded in the strong foundation of Chicago's roots. A foundation that includes many forms/styles of underground music, but without the burden of useless labels. Noble Square presents 'not only sonic love but also sonic statements.'

Review: Last year, experienced Chicago producer Ricardo Miranda delivered the first Latin Soul Brothas 12" in four years. Here, he brings the long-running project back to Neroli for the first time since 2012. As usual, he uses the opportunity to fuse traditional Chicago house tropes - the dreamy fluidity of Larry Heard, the sharp acid lines of Phuture, and so on - with percussion and instrumentation from the world of Latin music. The results are uniformly excellent, from the twinkling pianos and winding acid lines of "Dizzy Vibes", to the dusty electronic jazz bliss of closer "Friday Grooves", via the "Brazilian Rhyme"-goes-house shuffle of "Otra Voz".