Funky House Recommendations March 2011

Review: Round two of the Trax Re-Edited vinyl samplers sees the ever mysterious Popular Peoples Front, Music For Freaks boss Justin Harris, Bulgarian deity KiNK and the ever excellent Jon Daly take on some monumental classics from the Trax back catalogue. Farley Jackmaster Funk's seminal "Farley Knows House" gets doused in several textures of jack whilst Justin Harris offers a relatively cosmic tweak of Ralph Rosario's "You Used To Hold Me" that at least improves on the poorly mastered sound of the original. As per usual KiNK comes up with the goods, flipping Jack Frost's "Clap Me" to include a crazed procession of percussive layers which is likely to cause bedlam on the floor. Equally, Irish producer John Daly also excels despite having perhaps the most unenviable task of all in reshaping the all time classic Mr Fingers production "Can You Feel It?" Obviously not veering too far from Larry Heard's template, Daly does a brilliant job in imbuing some shimmer and delay to the melodic and rhythmic elements that gives the track a contemporary sheen, which was the purpose of the whole project.

Review: In the wrong hands, this collection of contemporary reworks of classic Chicago house productions could have been a distasteful mess. Thankfully, curated by the guys at DJ History, Trax Re-Edited strikes the right balance between respecting the original source material and satisfying the needs of contemporary dancefloors. As staunch advocates of the vinyl format, Bill and Frank were always going to press for the compilation to see some sort of twelve inch action. The resultant four volume samplers sees 16 of the 21 tracks make the transition, with the inaugural volume worth investigating thanks to the flipside endeavours from elder statesmen Neville Watson and SWAG. The former extends Spanky's "Acid Bass" embellishing the lysergic core and adds some rattling dubbed out percussion touches for good measure, whilst Sheffield's finest tease out the acid brilliance of Mr Fingers "Washing Machine" (nice pun on the remix title too!)

Review: The fourth round of vinyl samplers for DJ History's Trax edit redux kicks off in sterling fashion with Ray Mang's edit of "Take Me Higher" from Virgo 4 retaining the forward thinking aesthetic of the original but naturally adding some trademark squiggles, wiggles and effects that lend the track a truly soaring sensation. Greg Wilson is perhaps a smart choice to take on "No Way Back", no doubt having been astounded by the track fully showcasing the potential of the 808 drum machine upon hearing back in the late 80s. As with the majority of edits included, Wilson wisely restricts himself to tightening up the rubbery bass and surfeit of drum kicks to give the track a contemporary sheen. On the flip Mark Broom's stripped back take on Master C&J's "Dub Love" was actually prepped for white label release before the veteran producer got wind of the Harmless initiative and thus his smart rasping acid techno re -imagination is given a proper home!

Review: German duo Milk & Sugar's remake of 90s jazz rock outfit Vaya Con Dios's "Nah Neh Nah" gets the remix treatment on Italian label D Vision. Alex Kenji's re-edit of "Hey (Nah Neh Nah)" sounds like the love child of Jesse Rose and Dennis Ferrer, with a rolling house vibe working nicely beneath the looped up vocal, whilst Niels Van Gogh & Daniel Strauss keep the groove locked in tight on their version. The Lissat & Voltax and Wawa dubs on the flip reign in the vocal elements, serving up DJ-friendly club tools.

Review: Whilst all the vinyl samplers for this DJ History curated Trax Re-edit compilation are worth investigating, it's perhaps this third volume that screams essential the most by virtue of the presence of JD Twitch, Andy Blake, Richard Sen, Toby Tobias and Hardway Bros as the resident re-editors. Nor do they disappoint either as Hardway Bros team up with Rekids type Tobias and introduce some driving energetic synth patterns into Adonis' "We're Rocking Down This House" as well as embellishing the bottom end for a modern day warehouse thumper. Equally good is Cave Painter Andy Blake teasing out the rubbery off kilter undertones to Willy Wonka's spoken word drum machine thriller "What Is House" whilst retaining the raw, stuttering core. On the flip, Richard Sen goes deep on the signature synth stabs to Ron Hardy's "Sensation" which will destroy the more discerning dancefloors out there. Finally JD Twitch strips Mr. Lee's "Pump Up Chicago" of its really quite silly overtones and twists the track into a brilliantly hypnotic and menacing acid tinged late night jacker