Search results: Damae

Review: Did you know that Britain was not the only country where street soul was a musical force to be reckoned with during the late '80s and early '90s? As this fine compilation from record collector Augusto Olivani shows, the sound also thrived in Brazil, where inner-city musicians embraced its post-boogie fusion of head-nodding grooves, smooth instrumentation and even smoother vocals. There's much to enjoy throughout "Street Soul Brasil", from the dreamy chords and sparkling melodies of Afrodite Se Quiser's breezy "Fora De Mim", to the Soul II Soul style shuffle of Luna E DJ Cri's "Acabou Como Comecou", via the rushing cheeriness of Junior's "Vim Te Buscar" and the sugary bliss of MC D'Eddy's "Jeito De Menina (Instrumental)".

Review: We are extremely proud to announce our 32nd compilation from the Analog Africa regular serie, "Cameroon Garage Funk", highlighting Yaounde's 1970's underground music scene. The quest to assemble the puzzle-pieces of what seemed to be a long lost underground scene took us to Camroon, Benin and further on to Togo and it was in the cities of Cotonou, Lome? and Sotouboua that we managed to lay our hands on most of the songs presented in this compilation. Since there were no local labels, no producers, and almost nothing in way of infrastructure in Cameroon at that time, the artists had to be everything: musician, producer, executive producer, arranger, financier, promoter and sometimes even distributor. The sixteen tracks on Cameroon Garage Funk pulse with raw inspiration and sweat DYI mood uniting the featured diverse musicians around their willingness to do everything themselves in order to take a chance in the music scene.

Review: The Africa Seven label might not have been around for very long, but the London-Paris dynasty has certainly established itself as a no.1 outlet for rare, unhinged world music. This is Africa Airways Volume 3: The Afro-Psych Excursion, a gorgeous compilation spanning the years 1972 to 1984, and it clearly offers some of the most magnetic tunes that they label has put out thus far. There isn't a mediocre song in here and, as the saying goes, it's all-killer-no-filler; take African Black's "Nzango", for example, a twisted, FX-heavy tribal experiment, or the more soulful highs and lows of tunes like "Zinabu" by Bunzu Soundz. Rough, dusty, completely psyched-out, and inimitable the whole way through; if you're looking for something that'll get the heads turning, and the diggers jealous, then this is your LP. Highly recommended.

Review: After five years of breathing new life into forgotten Eastern European music, The Very Polish Cut-Outs is taking its' final bow. Pleasingly, this fifth and final installment of the label's vinyl sampler series is packed to the rafters with high-grade material. MIod kicks things off with "Kiedy Bylem Malym Chlopcem", a rolling, dancefloor-friendly rework of a killer blues-rock/AOR disco killer from Polish bluesman Tadeusz. Fast-rising Moscovite Beard In Dust steals the show with a killer interpretation of Polish B-boy fave "Biala Sowa, Biala Dama, Bialy Kruk", before Daniel Drumz heads into warmer waters with the sun-kissed loveliness of "Na Kolana Pastuszkowie". Another superb EP is completed by two tactile touch-ups of obscure, evocative gems that sound like long lost Balearic classics.

Review: Altered Moods strides into its 11th year of active service with a delectable platter of sumptuous house music presented by Jesus Gonsev. The Spanish producer has previously been spotted on deepArtSounds, Music With Content and his own Troubled Kids label. "Fuerza" is a billowing, dreamy trip loaded with heavy pads and submerged acid, leading into the gritty but soulful crunch of "Old Times." "Gargantua" is a loose-knit creation that celebrates skittering drums pinging around the anchor of the kick while wistful keys smooth the whole jam out. Life Energy taps into this feeling and runs with it on a remix of "Gargantua" that creates a more pumping backbone while amping up the romantic wooze of the melodic content too.

Review: The esteemed gang at Dark Entries have been hard at work on another one of their always eye opening compilation. This time they turn their focus to Mexican new wave and post-punk on the 10-track Back Up: Mexican Tecno Pop. None of the tunes here have ever made it to wax before and they come with a 12 page magazine that is packed with extra context, lyrics and bios about the artists. The tunes all shine a fine light on the flourishing DIY scene that was present in 1980's Mexico when much of the world's focus was on the more well documented synth pop and obscure electronics from Europe and the United States.

Review: Jealous God present Issue Number 7, the latest missive from Planete Rouge regular Alexey Volkov, and a record likely to cause bouts of overwhelming paranoia in listeners of a nervous disposition. There's something undeniably uncomfortable about the horror-fixated electronics, dystopian textures and spine-chilling freestyle vocals of "A Snake Falling To Pieces". The more upbeat and metallic "Never" is a little less bloodcurdling, with metallic hits clustered round a modular synthesizer groove. Perhaps the standout moment - though it's an all-round excellent excursion - is flipside "Ruins", which adeptly combines both approaches on an undulating, skin-crawling techno thruster.

Review: Taylor Burch and Joe Chocherell's DVA Damas project has always inhabited a sound space all of its own. While heavily influenced by post-punk rock, new wave and minimal wave synth-pop, quite a few of their records also draw on contemporary minimal techno and Visionquest style tech-house. It's the latter that comes to the fore on "Clear Cut", with Burch's stylized, groaning, Mascara-clad vocal riding a dubby, hypnotic tech-house groove and spiraling, EBM electronics. It stretches out for a mesmerizing 10 minutes, too, and subsequently overshadows the fine - but not quite as potent - bonus tracks.

Review: KiNK's technical prowess has long been a known trait of the Bulgarian producer's music, and here on Marco he gets to stretch-out his intellectual, avant garde-self more than what he's ever done for other labels like Burek, Ovum, Boe or liebe*detail. After a long career which, release-wise, dates back to 2005, he's delivered for the most-part straight up house and techno. But here, after all these years, his debut LP sees KiNK twist his synths and contort his grooves to sound, well, very Macro. Take the confused bleeps and brash drums of "Summa Technologiae" and "Kakavida" or the interdimesional electronics and Hare Krishna chinqs of "Povreda" for example. But for some real dancefloor toughness it's tracks like "Sintezator" and "Source OF Uncertainty" that do the trick, while for something a little more disco look out for the album's penultimate track "Tel". Go KiNK!

Review: The Downwards label inaugurates their new stateside operation Downwards America in superb fashion with the long overdue debut album from Los Angeles duo DVA Damas. Formed of Taylor Burch and Joseph Cocherell, the DVA DAMAS made a distinctive debut back in 2010 with the Brand New Head 10? on the DO sub label of Karl O' Connor's long running Downwards imprint. Burch's intimidating vocal delivery for that release ensured the track remained in our affections ever since and it's excellent to see their sound expanded to a full length album. Our only complaint with Nightshade is it feels far too short at just under 20 minutes, but otherwise their canny concoction of subtle film references and delay laden industrial sounds is a thrilling ride from start to finish. As an added bonus these shrink wrapped vinyl editions include the album on CD!

Review: Based in Banja Luka in Republika Srpska, Night Light is the brainchild of pioneering
Bosnian DJ duo Sinisa Tamamovic and Mladen Tomic. Sinisa and Mladen have cut out a
groove as leading lights in the techno field, establishing their reputation by releasing cracking
tracks on only the finest techno labels such as Adult Records, Fly Life, Patterns, Relatives,
Shadow Fax, Bassethound and Dolls amongst more. Here they are with 'Night Light 001 EP'.

Review: Doing the leg work at the Miami Winter Music conference this year pays off for Defected yet again as they give dj's around the world a superb collection of the biggest and freshest tunes from this annual shindig. Available unmixed and ready to go, these all of these tunes hae been tried and tested and guaranteed to go off.






Riva Starr's mix of Tear Down The Walls (featuring the inestimable vocals of Labelle's Nona Hendryx) kicks things off in just the right direction - soulful, jacking and anthemic to the max. Shapeshifters have a ball with the gospel-like vocals of disco dame Candi Staton, who interpolates lines from You've Got The Love into Musical Freedom - "sometimes I feel like... it gets harder every day". The effect makes your ears stand up and a broad smile break out over your face.






Major names obviously abound in this stellar collection - Crookers and Miike Snow colabborate on Remedy, Steve Angello's makes the cut with the lush vocals of La Candela Viva while Dj Gregory and Sidney Samson's Dama S Salon continues to become essential party food for dj's. One of the unexpected gems though is from Defected newcomer Ridney, whose At Night gets the nod here and has all the hallmarks of a future classic, a funky yet deliriously epic worker. As with most Defected compilations, this is a one-stop shop for summery greatness.

Review: Shire T is Chris Davids, better known as one half of celebrated electronic pair Maribou State. Here he makes his superb solo debut on thebans's own Dama Dama label with and album of bubbling and colourful electronic sounds steeped in fine synth craft and on point samples. The project was born from a desire to make dynamite club tools for Maribou State DJ sets and it has sure succeeded on that front. 'Blue Kiss' is a real standout with its rave beats, squelchy bass and classic vocal sample tugging at the heart. Further bangers come in the form of twisted 'Burnin' Jungle' and zoned out peak time lighter-waving moments of 'Mind Games.'

Review: Grainy and overdriven machine house from Brazil on Berlin label 777 which sounds like it's been recorded from tape and will resonate with fans of LIES or Mathematics. This stuff is properly dirty in a seriously lo-fi way... First track "Charlie" is dirty techno punk using a rusty pawn shop drum machine pattern and backed by growling black metal guitar feedback; pretty serious! Next up "Mini Folia" clangs and clatters about the shop with a skipping and antagonising melody plus more overdriven guitar grunt in the background. On the flip "Metados" is more uplifting and dare we say... soulful? This melancholic deep house number still packs some punch with its overdriven kick and bumping bassline though, don't worry. Finally "Damas" is one more underground basement jam; a driving vintage groove with equals parts emotion and machine hiss and squeal!

Review: We were wondering what Regis' Downwards stable was planning for 2017, but it's clear that the UK techno lynchpin has absolutely everything under control. The year kicks off with a collaborative EP, The Immortal Eye, featuring a special selection of artists whose sounds only tinker with the techno formula, and which will undoubtedly appeal to a whole spectrum of electronic music enthusiasts. Jan Grebenstein and Christine Seefried, the former having already appeared for the label recently, team up on "Wufferfraction", a mid-tempo roller that ticks along at a steady pace amid a sea of electrifying acid sonics, while fellow recent signee Layne delivers a noxious cloud of rhythmic ambient through "Love". On the B-side, the Autumns outfit offer a cold, bleak, pseudo techno groove on "Imposter Syndrome", leaving the excellent DVA Damas to coax the cold out of the wave thanks to an excellent tune by the name of "Shortcut To X". Recommended.

Review: This fine compilation from Regis' Downwards label has been trailed as a kind of "family portrait" of where the imprint stands in 2019, offering a slew of exclusive tracks including a heap of cross-generational collaborations. There is plenty to set the pulse racing throughout the collection. "EBM supergroup" You Hung impresses via the moody and clanking, mid-80s industrial vibes of "The Truth Was Different (Live)", while Obelus' "Scale Reference" sounds like Richard D James after a particularly potent bong hit. Simon Shreeve's "The Space Between Cultures" is a creepy slab of ambient/noise fusion, Layne's "Raising Up, Removal" is a delightfully out there journey into metallic electro headiness and DVA Damas' sub-heavy cut "People Say I'm Cool" is as stylish and, let's face it, cool as the title suggests.

Review: VARIOUS HOUSE MASTERS: DJ GREGORY DEFECTED/ADA/CINRAM
2CD HOMAS10CD 0826 1941 9382 9 £5.56
DEAL File Discount RELEASED: 06.12.10
TRACKLISTING: CD1) Productions: 1 DJ Gregory & Gregor Salto ft The Serafim Crew - Paris Luanda (Main Mix),
2 DJ Gregory - Hypnose, 3 DJ Gregory & Gregor Salto - Canoa, 4 DJ Gregory - Sookoos,
5 DJ Gregory - The Joburg Theme (Original), 6 DJ Gregory & Gregor Salto - Vem Rebola (Main Acid Mix),
7 DJ Gregory & Nikolai Dimitrov ft Dama s - Batucada, 8 DJ Gregory - S2 (Original), 9 DJ Gregory - Soldiers,
10 DJ Gregory & Sidney Samson ft Dama s - Dama s Salon (Main Mix),
CD2) Remixed: 1 DJ Gregory & Gregor Salto - Canoa (DJ Chus & David Herrero Balearica Mix),
2 DJ Gregory - Tropical Soundclash (K-Dope Mix), 3 DJ Gregory - Elle (Eol Ritual), 4 DJ Gregory - And (Rancido's Deep Dub),
5 DJ Gregory & Sidney Samson ft Dama s - Dama s Salon (Loopers Remix), 6 DJ Gregory - Attend 1 (Yass Remix),
7 DJ Gregory & Gregor Salto - Con Alegria (Sherry Flavour Arabic Bellydance Remix),
8 DJ Gregory - Breeze (Scandalo Mix), 9 DJ Gregory - Don't Panic (Gregory & Karizma Dub),
10 DJ Gregory & Gregor Salto ft The Serafim Crew - Paris Luanda (Franky Rizardo Remix),
himself with the celebrated Africanism project and ultimately founding his own label, Faya Combo, in the new millennium.
In 1996 DJ Gregory made his recording debut with a Cerrone Sample, 'Take the Cash & Run', on Basenotic Records as Cheesy D. Then he hits the charts with his remix of cheek 'Venus' Sunshine People. Throughout the remainder of the decade, he produced additional tracks under a series of monikers - namely Bobby Ewing, G, Prassay, Carinhoso Project, and DJ Gregory - for a variety of labels, most notably Yellow Productions, home of DJ Yellow and Bob Sinclar. In 2000 he began producing tracks as Africanism, a collaborative project on Yellow Productions.
Established as a hit maker, DJ Gregory founded his own label in 2002, Faya Combo, and released 'Tropical Soundclash', and 'Elle' (2003). During this same time period, he and Bob Sinclar mixed the double-disc Africanism (2002); plus, he and Julien Jabre produced a series of tracks for Basic Recordings under the Soha moniker. In 2004 Gregory was awarded 'Most Innovative Producer' at the House Music Awards. In subsequent years, DJ Gregory affiliated himself with Defected Records, on which he released Faya Combo Sessions (2008), a three-CD collection of his work (the first disc a DJ mix, the second a compilation of his productions, the third a compilation of productions as remixed by others). Year 2008: Gregory relocates to Amsterdam, now exploring the Dutch club scene and collaborates with Holland's finest producers. Meanwhile he takes on a couple of projects, travelling back and forth to Brazil and Angola and working with the local artists.
Gregory is without doubt the current king of the House beats and it's with this that he is awarded the honour of House Master with a 2 disc package of original productions and those who have remixed his work.
Including the brand new 'Paris Luanda', 'Vem Rebola', 'Soldiers' alongside classics such as 'S2' and 'The Jouburg Theme'; CD1 is the roundup of his original productions.
CD2 is a collection of those who have been given the hefty task of re-interpreting Gregory's trademark beats and remixing his talents. Highlights here include: Kenny Dopes 'Tropical Soundclash' remix, Louie Vega's EOL rework of 'Elle' and Karizma's 'Don't Panic' dub.
PRESS: Extensive print and online campaign with focus on dance music and urban press
RADIO: UK radio and online pirate radio stations targeted with 60 second adverts and supplied with a sampler highlighting key tracks from the compilation. Exclusive 60 minute mix featured in Defected In The House radio show, syndicated to 36 radio stations Worldwide
MARKETING: Press ads, Online activity

Review: Dama Dama: a brand new label co-founded by Pedestrian himself. They launch with a great conceptual EP that takes from sun-up right through to the deep of the night. From the twinkling early bird chorus and rising fog of "Simple Minded At Dawn" and the breezy, emotion-laden garage skips of "Deep In Daylight" we're then hurled much deeper into the day with the persistent chugs of "Torn Blue" and the come-to-bed shuffle of "JNT" featuring long-time friends and collaborators Maribou State. Sweet dreams, let's do it again the morning...

Review: Saoirse and Roza Terenzi join forces on the second drop for Maricas, a self-styled genre-fluid label which kicked off with an EP from ISAbella. On this record you get three tracks from Saoirse which veer from the nervy uptempo tech thump of 'Dama Latina' to the industrially-tinted sweat-up of 'You Can Come'. Terenzi offers some of her gleaming, impeccably produced tech-trance magic across 'Kandy Floss' and 'Triple D', the latter of which features Helen K delivering a ghostly whisper of a vocal which adds to the immersive magic. If you want to tap into the most up to the minute currents in techno and tech house, this record should bring you bang up to date.

Review: Since launching in 2011, James Healy's Air Texture label and compilation series has become something of an institution within the ambient scene. As with its predecessors, the seventh volume in the series has been jointly compiled by two artists with an existing musical relationship, in this case Rrose and Silent Servant. Their selections are on point, drowsily drifting between academic ambient compositions (see Rrose and James Fei's "For Bass Clarinet 8.97 (Rrose Version)", uncomfortable electronic explorations (Ron Morelli, Anthony Child), modular movements (Not Waving), jazz-flecked deep space soundscapes (Luke Slater), horror-influenced throb-jobs (Phase Fatale, June & An-i) and 1990s style ambient electronica (Octa Octa, Function).

Review: Given their long connection with Defected, it's perhaps no surprise that Copyright are the latest feel good house combo to step onto the Defected In The House treadmill. Here they deliver a double CD mix loosely themed around recent appearances in Hong Kong. It's pretty much what you'd expect, mixing standard US-centric Defected fare (Sandy Rivera, Quentin Harris, Osunlade etc) with underground European house (Ame, Steffi's superb "Yours"), breakout underground bits (Hot Natured, Benoit & Sergio's excellent "Everybody"), a dash of tribalism (Mike Dunn, Born To Funk) and reinvented classics (Marshall Jefferson).