Search dance music

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: "Self Religion (Believe In Me)", by Hardsoul, has support from Bob Sinclar, DJ Pierre, Erick E, Hector Romero, Copyright and many more.

Review: DJ Gregory's new Defected release, "Faya Combo Sessions", has support from Martin Solveig, Roog (Hardsoul), Audiowhores, Graham Sahara (Pacha Ibiza) and more.

Review: "Freak", by Sandy Rivera and Haze, has support from Tom Novy, Trickski, Tom De Neef, David Morales and many more.

Review: We've been waiting patiently for this release to drop for nearly 18 months now. "Discopolis" originally appeared for a brief moment on Alan Braxe's Vulture imprint and was quickly scooped up by Defected and immediately deleted. Here this epic slab of uplifting house, with an Italo tilt, finally finds a release. This first of two 12"s features the much sought after original mix, Chris Lake's powerful electro house bomb remix and a live remix from Hundred Birds.

Review: One of the UK's top producers of deep and soulful house return to Defected and follow up their successful release "He Is" with another sublime slice of vocal house. "I Pray" moves in the direction of Ferrer & Quentin Harris, putting a more electronic edge into the production while never leaving out the soul. The vocal is gorgeous and the production is sparse and leaves enough room for all the parts to groove together nicely. A dub is included as is an awesome reprise which will bring down the house. A must for Regisford fans!

Review: Hanna Hais brings her native French vocals to Defected in the form of "Ta Reine". A slice of layered, musical house in a classic mould, the track was produced in Athens by Mikael Delta, who contributes a bumping Latin-styled percussive mix that brings Hanna's atmospheric song to the fore. Elsewhere on the release, Switzerland's Purple Music label boss Jamie Lewis introduces filtered keys, piano riffs, handclaps and glockenspiel solos on his vocal version to give a rich sounding garage production flavour. Chicago legend and acid house pioneer DJ Pierre completes the re-rubs with a collision of driving afro beats and trademark electronic tweaks.

Review: This is a brand new version of the massive fave from Junior Jack's debut album "Trust It", now featuring the vocals of Shena of "The Weekend" fame. It is an essential, up-tempo club track that will instantly strike a recognisable chord wherever it's played.

Review: Man of the moment Fedde Le Grand follows his huge #1 single 'Put Your Hands Up For Detroit' with another storming electro-house
cut, this time issued through Defected. Treading a similar path to the recent hit, 'Take No Shhhhhhhh' is all about a squelchy bassline
and crunching beats and should see the Dutch maestro's star continue its ascent. Now available with brand new mixes.

Review: This is a brand new version of the massive fave from Junior Jack's debut album "Trust It", now featuring the vocals of Shena of "The Weekend" fame. It is an essential, up-tempo club track that will instantly strike a recognisable chord wherever it's played.

Review: The latest edition is mixed to perfection by DJ and production duo Copyright, who after a slew of great tracks under their various monikers last year are global artists. Their DJ appearances in Ibiza and beyond have become legendary, so expect some nice work.

Review: "Sound Of Freedom" is the next smash hit from France's finest DJ superstar Bob Sinclar. This is a massive dance track featuring the vocals of Gary Pine, who is also the lead singer of The Wailers and Dollarman. Sun-drenched reggae rhythms, a classic house hook borrowed from Rozalla's "Everybody's Free" and the smooth vocals of Gary Pine (who also featured on "Love Generation") all combine together to make another feel good anthem from Bob.

Review: The fave anthem from Mr V's album finally gets the spotlight. "Put Your Drink Down" has been the party choice since the album "Welcome Home" hit the shelves late last year. This Defected release features a whole host of remixes.

Review: "Sweat", by Trickski, has support from Balearic Soul, Martin Lodge, DJ Spen, Tom De Neef and many more.

Review: Gilles Peterson, the original resident of the international airwaves, takes us on a journey through disco, soul, jazz and house.
Gilles Peterson is most certainly in the house.
On cd1 Gilles Peterson delivers upfront, classic and exclusive house tracks from Wahoo, Larry Heard presents Mr White,
M'dambi, Blaze, Sandy Rivera, Nick Holder and Deetron.
On cd2 we go on a journey through a more traditional Gilles Peterson set, with jazz, funk and disco from Earth Wind & Fire,
Chaka Khan, Weldon Ervin, Johnny Hammond, Angela Bofill and Jon Lucien.
Cd3 is super, super exclusive, with tracks commissioned by Gilles exclusively for this compilation. Featuring productions from
Kings Of Tomorrow, Carl Craig, Karizma, Zed Bias, DJ Sneak and Peter Kruder, you will not find any of these tracks anywhere
else - a must for any house music lover.
Gilles Peterson is an influential DJ and record label owner. Through his labels Acid Jazz and Talkin' Loud he has been associated
with the careers of countless well-known artists of the 1990s such as Erykah Badu and Tony Rich.

Review: There have been plenty of tributes to sadly departed house legend Frankie Knuckles, but this is the first true retrospective of his work. It's a fitting tribute, with Defected choosing to focus largely on his classic '80s and '90s work, sneaking in only a few later hits (see the Director's Cut anthem "I'll Take You There" and a storming remix of Hercules & Love Affair's "Blind"). As you'd expect, all the familiar staples are present - "The Whistle Song", "Tears", "Baby Wants To Ride" etc. - alongside lauded remixes (classic reworks of Loose Ends and Chaka Khan, in particular) and a smattering of previously unreleased gems (check the piano-laden revision of Pet Shop Boys' "Left To My Own Devices").

Review: With the White Isle' summer season in full swing, Simon Dunmore presents his annual tribute to the island's club scene, Defected In The House Ibiza. As usual, it's a three-disc affair, packed with a mixture of tried-and-tested favourites and forthcoming Defected label material. Disc one is focused on willowy, soul-flecked, beachside deep house fare, with later excursions into slightly tougher material in a bid to get the party started. By disc two, you'll be ready to dance along to chunky, soulful and tech-tinged treats from the likes of Thatmanmonkz, ATFC, Terrence Parker and Mike Dunn. That just leaves disc three, where Dunmore gets all dark and sweaty via throbbing cuts from Joeski, Honey Dijon, Riva Starr and Tommy Bones.

Review: Adam Unsworth and Graham Lord are the DJ and production duo the Audiowhores. Hailing from Manchester, having first crossed paths in 2000, the pair's main musical influences stem from, among others, Dave Lee, Masters At Work, Full Intention and Jazz-N-Groove. Since 2003 their consistently quality output of original tracks and remixes has been housed by renowned labels including Soulfuric, Z, Gossip and Milk N 2 Sugars. Now Defected bring "I'm Inspired".

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: Launched last year, Glitterbox is Defected's Ibiza party dedicated to joining the dots between disco, boogie and house. That's what you get on this year's obligatory tie-in compilation, which sees label boss Simon Dunmore take the reins once more. Disco, boogie, '80s soul and electrofunk are the order of the day on disc one, with Dunmore smoothly moving between superbly synth-heavy cuts from Surface, Brenda Taylor, Tata Vega and Rufus & Chaka Khan. The second CD starts in similar fashion, before veering off towards soulful house territory, and a selection of scorching cuts and remixes from the likes of Louie Vega, Marc Evans, Hot Toddy, Danny Krivit, Dimitri From Paris, Hardsoul and Blaze.

Review: Defected drop this excellent compilation ahead of Tong's third consecutive summer of Wonderland parties in Ibiza; it comes stuffed to the gills with future summer anthems and a few exclusive mixes courtesy of Gorillaz, Cassius and DJ Hell. Tong's selection gets the balance between future classics and favourites just right throughout. Monster hits like Dennis Ferrer's 'Hey Hey' nestle nicely up against new tunes like Mendo's excellent Latin-leaning 'Aventura', or the deep and funky 'Back To Panorama's Love' by Carlo Toma which features some epic builds that will clearly devastate floors this summer. Elsewhere, Cassius' filter classic '1999' gets rejigged with style by Tim Green while Jimpster's take on Josh Wink's 'Jus Right' breaks out the old-school 808 hi-hats and works it into a devastating house nugget. Tong's own mix of Gorillaz 'Stylo' is an instant winner, saving the vocals for a deep and epic build-up, while Digweed's edit of DJ Pierre's 'Cruel Intentions' remix is worth the price of the album alone.

Review: One of Danny Tenaglia's biggest records now boasting a stunning remix package. It has been bubbling to great acclaim since the start of the year and now gets a full Defected release.

Review: Amidst the ever increasing line of Ibiza compilations that get released every year, Defected's In The House Ibiza series has become the standard bearer for what's making the terraces shake on the Balearic Isle.The 2010 edition contains some fresh funky house shenanigans with the likes of certified Ibiza royalty Shapeshifters, DJ Gregory and ATFC all featuring. The inclusion of main room sensations from James Talk & Ridney and the Tom De Neef remix of Dennis Ferrer will see this edition of In The House Ibiza stand up to past efforts. Defected A & R Simon Dunmore gets brownie points for dropping Tensnake, Azari & III and some vintage Solid Groove in the mix too.

Review: New York's Mr. V, a protégé of legendary Master At Work Louie Vega, releases his debut album of street styled grooves, combining house and hip hop beats with quality lyricism to become an instant leader of the nu-skool urban/dance scene and a more than worthy showcase for his current club smash 'Da Bump'. Experiencing V's original productions is like taking a trip back in time to electronic music's golden age. He draws on his many influences and inspirations to create songs that are at the same time thought provoking and infectious, and encompass much heart and soul. Despite being a massive music fan with eclectic tastes, and wanting to be a DJ after his experiences in late 80s and early 90s NYC club land, it wasn't until Mr. V met superstar producer, DJ and Grammy award winner Louise Vega, that he truly found his calling. Vega saw the drive and potential V possessed and hired the aspiring Nuyorican talent as his assistant at the world famous Masters At Work label. In this position he was given a rare glimpse into the global electronic music scene and before long was taking to the decks alongside his mentor.

Review: For the latest installment of their long running Defected In The House series, the label look to the sunny climes of Brazil for inspiration. While Sandy Rivera offers a solid take on the main room Defected sound on disc one, it's the second disc from Brazilian scene veteran DJ Meme that really hits the spot. Far more positive, sunny and soulful than Rivera's slightly dry disc, it's a breezy delight far more in keeping with the compilation's Brazilian theme. Over the course of 70 smile-inducing minutes, Meme expertly mixes up disco-flecked, Latin-tinged cuts from the likes of Sergio Flores, Grant Nelson, Joey Negro, Copyright and Fish Go Deep, many remixed in his own inimitable style.

Review: There's no doubt that Singapore's Zouk, the Far East's longest established super club, is a special place. Over the course of 20 years, the riverside venue has built a formidable reputation as a muST visit clubbing destination, thanks largely to its unique atmosphere, stunning decor and labyrinthine layout. For those who have partied hard at Zouk, this triple-CD mix (two discs from venue residents Jeremy Boon and djB, and one from Defected big man Simon Dunmore) will bring back some happy memories. Killer underground selections are thin on the ground, of course, but this is all about anthems - high quality crossover hits ("Rej", "To Be In Love", "Elle", "Jaguar" etc) that excited and inspired dancers at Asia's finest club.

Review: "Sound Of Freedom" is the next smash hit from France's finest DJ superstar Bob Sinclar. This is a massive dance track featuring the vocals of Gary Pine, who is also the lead singer of The Wailers and Dollarman. Sun-drenched reggae rhythms, a classic house hook borrowed from Rozalla's "Everybody's Free" and the smooth vocals of Gary Pine (who also featured on "Love Generation") all combine together to make another feel good anthem from Bob.

Review: It's taken Defected a while to get round to putting together a Masters at Work retrospective for their popular House Masters series. Given the New York duo's legendary status, this is something of a surprise. This CD edition does a good job in rounding up some of their highlights, touching on forgotten gems as well as well-known anthems ("The Nervous Track", the brilliant "The Ha Dance"). It's nice to revisit the MAW-produced 1994 cut "Voices in My Mind" (effectively a side project featuring regular vocalist India), and, in particular, the stomping, piano-laden soulful house flex of Kenny and Louie's classic Dub of Lood and Donell Rush's "Shout N Out".

Review: Given the length of his career - 25 years and counting - it's a bit surprising it's taken this long for Defected to invite Dave 'Joey Negro' Lee into their House Master hall of fame. Happily, they've done a good job summarising his career to date, getting a good balance between both big hits ("American Dream", "Ride The Storn", "Everyday" etc) and lesser-known remixes (early tweaks of Reece Project, Simphonia, Extortion), as well as showcasing the disco side of Lee's output (superb reworks of Candido and Patrice Rushen, for starters). It's surprising how many of Lee's vintage productions and reworks have stood the test of time - something that can't be said for many of his contemporaries.

Review: Here's something to raise the spirits of househeads everywhere: a two-disc mix of vintage Strictly Rhythm material - mostly from the New York house and garage label's 1990s heyday - by Get Physical founder DJ T. More excitingly, the package also contains unmixed versions of the German veteran's selections, each of which he has re-edited. Happily, his selections are spot on, and for every well-known classic - Hardrive's "Deep Inside", Wink's "Higher State of Consciousness", Phuture's "Rise From Your Grave" etc - there are countless other deeper, even more essential selections (see KDope's "Watch This", Sneak's hustling "Keep On Groovin" and the nagging cyber-funk of Mood II Swing's "It's Gonna Work Out"). In a word: essential.

Review: With the annual Miami Winter Music Conference in full swing, veteran DJ Pete Tong has joined forces with UK bass upstarts Gorgon City to mix a celebratory volume of his All Gone series. The Radio 1 man handles disc one, joining the dots between the fluid, yearning tech-house of Matt Tolfrey, the booming tribal rhythms of Franky Rizardo, and the trancey, progressive-tinged deepness of Guy Gerber and Puff Daddy. Unsurprisingly, there's a more robust, in-your-face feel about Gorgon City's disc, as they quickly work their way through sub-heavy, garage and acid-tinged offerings from ZDS, Jimmy Edgar, James Barnsley and Jesse Rose & Troze.

Review: Further proof that German producer Nick Curly is now playing with the big boys is provided by this sumptuous two-disc mix-up for house goliaths Defected. Kicking off with the tongue-in-cheek "No Requests Intro" - a kind of cheery two-fingered salute to irritating punters - Curly proceeds to slowly shift through the gears, moving through a range of typically European deep and tech-house flavours, before reaching for the bumpin' beats and US garage classics on disc two. While the first disc is deep and appealing, it's this second disc - packed with hustlin' jams from Mood II Swing,

Review: With the Miami Winter Music Conference just weeks away, Defected drop the latest installment in their long-running WMC-themed mix series. This year, Andrea Oliva, Paolo Rocco and NICe7 are at the controls, with the three fast-rising DJs handing a disc each. There's plenty of variety in the bumper tracklist, which offers a blend of recent hits, forthcoming anthems and the odd classic (see Maurice's '80s Chicago anthem "This Is Acid"), across a range of house styles (deep, dubby, soulful, tech-tinged, acid etc). It's Rocco's disc, replete with quality cuts from the likes of Larry Heard, Mr G, Deetron, Sub-Ann, Tom Trago and Seth Troxler, which really impresses, though the quality rarely dips throughout. Defected think that it's their strongest Miami comp to date, and they're probably right.

Review: Interestingly, Defected see their annual In The House Ibiza compilation as their "flagship release" and it's for this reason that long-standing label boss and face of the label Simon Dunmore is at the controls for this year's three-CD installment. Dunmore takes a slower, deeper, groovier approach on the first disc (think disco and Balearic influenced cuts from Phil Weeks, 6th Borough Project and Drew Hill), before slowly building up towards a heads-down climax on disc three. There's plenty of anthems and anthems-in-waiting present throughout the bulging tracklist, but also some deeper choices (including, it should be noted, an excellent new Deetron remix of Wallflower's "Say You Won't Ever").

Review: No one does contemporary disco like Dimitri From Paris. And no one has the compilation licensing clout like Defected. Naturally this is a match made in glitterball heaven as DFP spans 40 years of grooves with a spotless collection of his own edits and upfront jams. Ranging from his own twists on standard disco gems such as "Le Freak" and "Lost In Music" to the likes of Disclosure's "F For You" and Todd Terje's "Delorean Dynamite" this is, without question, one of Defected's most extensive, expansive and exciting collections to date - which really is saying something. A natural fit for all house, disco and funk fans young and old.

Review: Slow Focus sees the Fuck Buttons duo of Benjamin John Power and Andrew Hung return with a third studio album, and one that marks a departure for both as it's their first release completed without the assistance of a high profile studio hand. Mogwai's John Cummings oversaw their 2008 debut album Street Horrrsing whilst revered Alan Moore lookalike Andrew Weatherall worked his magic on their excellent follow-up Tarot Sport. So how does this seven track set fare under these new circumstances? The Fuck Buttons sound is certainly no less intense without their self professed "safety net" with the familiar sound of squalling feed back dominating opening track "Brainfreeze". From here the pair touch on Holden levels of transcendence with "Year of the Dog" whilst the brutally foreboding sonic slump of "Sentience" is a considered highlight. Welcome back Fuck Buttons!

Review: His powers to thrill and surprise may have waned in recent years, but Nottingham's Charles Webster remains one of British house music's genuine legends. In the two decades since his first single appeared in stores, Webster has provided deep house heads with too many highlights to mention, under a myriad of pseudonyms (Furry Phreaks, Presence, DJ Profile, and Love From San Francisco being the best-known). Using new re-edits, unreleased remixes and unheard exclusives, this edition of Defected's House Masters series charts his impressive career to date, mixing the familiar ("I Understand You", "Want Me (Like Water)", "Better Day"), with lesser-known fare (including, surprisingly, Webster's superb but overlooked remix of A Reminiscent Drive's "2 Sides to Every Story").