Review: Founded by Alex Agore and James Johnston last year, No Matter What Recordings has proved to be a potent outlet for the duo's inimitable take on crisp rolling house sounds in the label's short life to date and this fourth release maintains those standards. After two solo EPs from the respective label heads, the deftly titled A2J2 EP mimics the label debut with a pair of productions from both, with Berlin resident Alex Agore calling shotgun. Muddy vocals and old school piano lines soar through the shamelessly vibing pump of "Come On" while "Take Me" has Agore in a deeper frame of mind, unfurling the various melodic textures with aplomb over a crashing beat. Not to be outdone, JJ opts for a rawer swinging approach with "Stand Up & Jump" utilising a similar cut up vocal sound which gets increasingly submerged amidst the thick, twisting groove. "Not So Easy" might just be the pick of the bunch however, swamping the intricate drum programming in a rich melange of Motor City Soul that sucks you right in.
Review: Homepark might only have a few releases in their arsenal, but the standard of labels the East London duo have graced demonstrates it's all about the quality and not quantity. Having already graced the likes of Bliq, 3rd Strike, Enterbt and Simoncino's House Sound initiative, Homepark hop onto one of the UK's most respected proper house hubs in the shape of Ornate Music with the three tracker Fill Emptiness EP. Senses are flushed with warmth as soon as the title track arises from the warmth of the opening pads, slinking into twilight action on a slick Chicago groove driven by crisp, intricate percussion. Proceedings change up on the flip, with the buffed up toughness of "Fall Down On Me" with Homepark taking a more stripped back approach, lining a bumping drum track with mere hints at melody (which explode with intermittent excitement) and an expertly weaved vocal sample drenched in all too effective delay. Finally, Homepark flex their emotive chord abilities to the max on the sumptuous "Ninety" letting the textural emotions build for a good few minutes before dropping the kick!
Review: Swiss based Italian DJ Gianni Siravo continues to excel under his recently established Washerman alias, with an appearance on the newly minted Saft imprint following a superlative drop for Drumpoet earlier in 2012. Whilst that releases focused on no nonsense booming warehouse sounds, the three track Deeper For Me approaches matters from a slightly more classical deep house angle (as you'd expect from the title) Opening track "Just A Touch" hogs the A Side with one of those thick punchy grooves reminiscent of 90s US garage but its complemented by vast washes of subaqueous melody that lend the track some contemporary feeling. On the flip, "Deep Feelin" is rhythmically more clipped, lead by a nagging vocal under tone and slick percussive embellishments that keep you on your toes, whilst Washerman playfully drops drunken keys on top. Finally "Mellow Go" stays true its title, with the straight groove deep in the mix as the woozy keys and incandescent chords are allowed centre stage to work their magic.
Review: Having skirted around a healthy spread of labels in the last two years, Deymare now appears on Soul Notes with his own take on pumped but smooth deep house of the 90s persuasion. On "After The Morning Comes" there's a strong swing to the drums that would sound right at home on a Guidance record, while "The Search For A Lost Dream" takes the same principles and slows it down to an easy glide, bubbling on a bed of bluesy keys. "Seduced By The Sound" chooses to take a slightly more jagged groove, while the pads create a more mystical kind of deepness.
Dubbyman - "Love's All Right" (Above Smoke dub mix)
Mr Done! - "Diamond" (vinyl edit)
Amir Alexander - "Woozy!"
Review: Malcolm Moore's Altered Moods imprint comes through with the self styled "deep as fuq" Love's All Right EP featuring contributions from Dubbyman, Amir Alexander and Mr Done! The well respected Dubbyman marks his debut production on Altered Moods with the sublime "Love's All Right"- a track naturally brimming with his signature jazzy touches and lolloping beat down groove. It's complemented by an altogether housier remix from Above Smoke who does a superb job in cloaking elements of Dubbyman's original production in a hazy sheen deep beneath an infinitely rise rasp of a groove. Turn over and Mr Done! (aka Mr Moore) gently rolls out a melange of widescreen chords and shimmering pads over the ever rippling rhythmic snap of drums that drives "Diamond" forward, whilst Amir Alexander wins the prize for the most apt title on "Woozy!" a tightly wound driving house track whose undulating textures will cause travel sickness for years to come.
Review: After recently impressing on Endless Flight with some sparkling, jazz-flecked deepness, Creative Swing Alliance brings their unique brand of fluid deep house to Tsuba Limited. Mother Water is every bit as spellbinding as you'd expect, with the title track particularly impressing. It's wonderfully positive, recalling the halcyon days of early New York deep house, with the kind of loose swing that marks out the finest deep house productions. The woozy, disco-flecked "Higher Ground" is almost as good. The flip boasts a Medlar remix of "Mother Water" that's arguably one of his best reworks yet. Far brighter and aesthetically pleasing than previous efforts, its New Jersey flex is offset by the sweetest of melodies.
Review: Trackmode Recordings unveil a new label in the shape of TMR Essentials, and the first release lives up to this billing, with label boss Brett Dancer ending his production exile in style. The Euphonic Moods EP marks Dancer's first tangible original production in some six years, but the Brooklyn based producer has lost none of his signature deepness. Lead track "V2" greedily occupies the A Side, bristling wonderfully in the space between house and techno, with one of those instantly recognisable melodic refrains shifting intermittently into focus atop a blissfully arranged rhythm. On the flip, "Space" occupies a higher gear, with little more than deft percussion, driving bass and panning chords needed to deliver the TMR message, while "The Lost" leads you willingly deep into the unknown.
Review: Most commonly seen sharing production billing with Ethyl, Flori comes good on his second solo transmission for the promising City Fly label. The title track, where deeply soulful vocal samples swing freely in the space between crisply laced percussion and rippling chords that shift in and out has anthem written all over it. Complementing this, Ethyl drops a sly nod to North London with the dubby bubbling Chicago styles of "Holloway", with vocals wrapping around deep, warm chords. Leif and Iron Curtis offered fresh perspectives on the respective tracks with their remixes, with Leif's having more than a touch of MK inspired New York shuffle, and Iron Curtis swathing the original in delay and percolating melodies.
Malcolm Moore - "Love (A Perilous Thing)" (feat Debra Jones-Davis)
Bjak - "Purple Fire"
Malcolm Moore - "Love (A Perilous Thing)" (feat Debra Jones-Davis - Jenifa Mayanja remix)
Review: Imperious Spanish imprint Deep Explorer reached release number 26 this year, with a split EP featuring Altered Moods boss Malcolm Moore alongside long time Explorer Bjak (real name Brian Cullen). Bjak's two cuts - "Rhythm Of Love" and "Purple Fire" - are both produced with typically immaculate poise, but it's the sultry nature of the latter cut that had everyone at Juno HQ swooning. Malcolm Moore meanwhile served the swooping chords and rock hard bump of "Love (A Perilous Thing)", which features an ethereal vocal contribution from Debra Jones-Davis, who talks about the dangers of the "L" word while the lush arrangement works deep below in the mix. Jenifa Mayanja rounds off a consummate package with a shuffling, Latin-influenced remix of "Love (A Perilous Thing)".
Review: Motor-City legend Norm Talley has had one hell of a comeback since his hiatus at the end of the 90s. Since 2009, he's reignited his peerless talent behind the production desk and London-based Landed Records have come through with what is probably his biggest EP yet. "Ion" kicks things off with style and panache, merging beautiful chords together with Talley's inimitable percussion style - dicing hi-hats all round! The title track, "Travlin" is a sublime jazzed-out piece for the small hours whilst "Analog Dreams" is just pure hardware delight - those gritty drums delivering some serious action alongside the meandering pads and subdued vocals. Get to know!
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