Tags: Ghetto House

Review: Theo Parrish lays down a marker for a long overdue fifth album, apparently due out later this year, with the sublime Footwork 12". Named in reference to the dance as opposed to the breakneck offshoot of Ghetto House, "Footwork" is a sublime slab of Theo with many of his trademark production touches. Think lightly brushed percussion, meandering bassline that juts out with an odd funk, and subtle yet sumptuous musical touches, all topped off by a gruff "let me see your footwork baby" croon. Those Theo fans out there that like the man to get a bit rugged will be all over "Tympanic Warfare" too, where off the grid polyrhythms cannon around the channels, augmented by an ugly bassline and dexterous keys.

Review: SEX (remixes) makes for another triumphant 12" from the uber prolific FXHE stable and further smears the edges of expectation when it comes to the singular Omar S. Once again utilising the silky vocal delivery of singer L Renee, the four tracks here take divergent stylistic routes but each is magnificent. Keen listeners of Benji B's Radio 1 show will have heard the Conant Garden Posse version on a recent Big Strick guest mix, a devilishly dirty riposte to the Ghetto House aesthetic which has L Renee's vocals gliding over a snapping, raw house beat. Alongside this are two variants done in collaboration between Omar S and Aaron Fit Siegel which sound like they've been particularly inspired by soundtrack to Drive. Check the final Mack & Bewick remix for some detuned analogue nightmare set to a rippling electro beat.

Review: As the sweary, confrontational title suggests, this four-tracker from Detroit hero Omar-S is like a musical expansion pack for his much-discussed recent album, F*ck Resident Advisor. The no-nonsense Detroiter starts in fine fashion with 'Gonna Love You', a jaunty, piano-sporting peak-time loop jam crafted from old school vocal samples and snippets from a killer disco record, before reaching for cosmic synth sounds, lilting melodies and a melancholic mood on the starry deep house jam 'Bread Over Bed'. He subtly doffs a cap to Dance Mania style ghetto-house on the quirky, club-ready cheekiness of 'Shut Up', before smothering a classic house groove with heady hand percussion and snaking synth lines on dense and energetic closing cut 'Sloppy Joe'.

Review: New Omar S 12" featuring John FM!

Review: Set to be a collab for the ages, Special Request (Paul Woolford) and Novelist (Kwadwo Kankam) team up to capitalise on the cultural residues of bassline, grime and house with 'Sliver'. Pairing Novelist's unmistakable cadence and flow with classic grime square-waves and booty house-esque drums, 'Sliver' has been a highlight of both Special Request and label boss Peggy Gou's recent sets, climaxing in a tempo change designed to turn the dancefloor inside out. As potent in intimate dark rooms as it is festival main stages, you'll be hearing this one all summer and beyond.

Review: Amplified People is a prolific French artist based in Paris who roams from minimal glitch to bleeping house and driving techno. Here he brings his class to the fledgling Arpanet label following a debut EP from founder and French veteran DJ Speep back in October last year. It's Ghost Black that opens up with sleazy and ghetto-friend tech complete with plenty of Motor City style. There are then melodic stompers like 'Canon Jack' and brilliantly deep and sleepy cosmic techno trips like 'Solitaire Wargames' to make this a real doozy.

Review: We'd have never guessed that the (originally) dubstep producer Loefah would land a release on the principally juke and footwork label Teklife and decide, of all things, to give them three acid techno tunes. The linkages aren't as tenuous as it sounds, though: anything more than a cursory listen will unveil the unmistakable Chicago house influences on this otherwise London-born burrer. With the 197 bus to Croydon held firmly in mind, both 'Jump Start' and 'Nines' lay down respectively riveting fidgets, and recall lost fantasies of juke competitions in deep South London community centres, that in reality never happened - though we still know, feel, that deep down there is a more primal dialogue at play between the two cities. On track 3, this dialogue is extended with an official collab with ghetto house pioneer DJ Deeon, whose overt displays of sample-vocalled sexuality put the genre on the map; here, though, he rerubs Loefah's A-side, tubing his acid line through a veritable warp-sped drive, and causing the track to take its fullest flight.

Review: One of Detroit's finest, Lauren Flax aligns with the Chiwax label for a debut offering of ultra-rough, juking, retrofuturistic daydreams in four tracks. Like a rose blossoming from a thorny stem, this EP starts out raw and slowly fans out into the subtler tricks of multilayering and accoutrement. 'Jack The Haus' is the tweezy, 16-bit hardware jam; then there's 'The Cheeky Whistle Song', which, compared to the first track, betrays a contrasting taste for cascading arps and subtle melodies in the surround mix. 'D-Troit' returns somewhat to the initial Detroit bounce mood, while Lis Sarroca's remix rounds things off with a softer, out-your-face breaks-house beeper.

Review: DJ Pirna's new EP has a rather unreconstructed title in 'It Smells Like Bootyhole On Mars Bring Me Back To Earth!' but there is nothing wrong with the beats. The six tunes are all sizzling dancefloor workouts that draw on juke, house, footwork and electro and first up is the soulful sound of 'Where You Are Is Not Who You Are' before 'Trashman' gets all wonky. 'Freak Show' is a thrill gin and high-speed electro looper, while deeper atmospheres pervade the slower 'Cleanin' Up', jazzy overtones of 'Real Thang' and then last of all is the title cut with its spinning hi-hats, funky breaks and boogie bass.

Review: A rarely legit example of raw hip house from Chicago's Tyree & Ungkel Huud, who are, well and truly, tired of this BS - by which they mean illegitimate house music of the wannabes' kind. MC Tyree buckles up for a challenging but knocked-out-the-park verse glided over four mixes, from Wade Teo's opener to an acid killer, decrying the falsity of upstart house producers: "get out my house! You been here too long... matter fact, you can kiss my..." With an instrumental mix on the flip too, you can be sure for a fiery start to your next vocal-soaked DJ set.

Review: We don't half love a bit of Steven Julien, the artist formally known as Funkineven. And this new EP arrives just at the right time as the days brighten, the sun heats up and cruising day-time funk, house and boogie blends are all you want to pump out of your retro 3 series with the top down. 'Time' has distinctly 80s flavours with its bright chords and beats, 'Ultra' is more heavy with a contemporary rap/trap edge and 'Up' is a raw house cut with swinging kicks. 'Wraap't' is another crunchy and loved-up 80s street soul sound then 'Lil'bit' and 'Ballad' close out with more neon pads and retro-future melodic sparkle.

Review: For the latest missive on his 90s house inspired Theory of Swing label, producer-turned-imprint founder Davide Disanto (best known as St David) has donned the alternative DJ Stenn alias and joined forces with No Hype DJ's partner DJ Stanic (AKA Saverio Ricci). What they've delivered is rooted in their joint love of Dance Mania releases of the 90s and the driving, bumping and frequently heavy sound of DJ Sneak. So, the redlined beats, fizzing electronics and jacking drum fills of 'Houz Party' is followed by the chopped-up vocal snippets and pounding grooves of 'Crazy Wild', the acid-fired peak-time sleaze of 'Work That Pussy' and the jacking body music of 'Loose My Headz'. Proper sweat-soaked club jams - more please!

Review: DJ Slugo is a legendary producer who very much helped to define the sound of the equally legendary Dance Mania label back in the day. Now Subterranean Playhouse has put together a collection of his most influential works across the juke and footwork spectrum on one vital 12". 'Bang Dem Walls' kicks off in signature style with hard-hitting rhythms and ghetto vocals. 'Like It Raw (feat DJ Deeon - 2002 remix)' is another hardcore dancefloor banger with jittery rhythms and turbocharged stabs and 'On The Low (feat Double AC & DJ PJ)' is exactly the sort of short but sweet and impactful jam that DJ Slufo is such a master of.

Review: SEVEN7 is a new label that has launched with a varied deep house remix EP and now quickly follows it up with something just as diverse. This one is a new single from Andre Zimmer with 'Wait A Minute' layering up pulling bass, hurried drum breaks and falling vocals into something seriously direct. The Vitess remix is more techno-leaning and bouncy, 'Ice Lolly' taps into surging hip-house styles and 'Round Two' is pure Jaydee-style 90s house.

Review: Chicago's standout beat innovator DJ Slugo is back to reclaim his throne as the self-proclaimed "king of ghetto house" with this new seven-track album. It is packed with some of the most real and raw ghetto sounds of now with hip-house and Miami bass also checked into the mixer and spat out the other side in time for Record Store Day 2025. Killer dance floor weapons are everywhere you listen here - 'Drop It Low 112707' has chopped and screwed vocals and corrugated drums and bass. 'Back Da Fuck U' (feat Missy - remix has tumbling kicks and bass and sleazy vocal samples and 'F*ck These Hoe' is as silly as it is seriously effective.

Review: The hardcore house heads at Dungeon Meat have assembled another funky slab of waxy deliciousness to tuck into and this time it's a various artists affair. Mance serves up the starter, 'In A World Of,' which is rock solid cut with a physical low end but infused with real soul warmth. Timmy P's 'Utter Filth' is another muscular house workout with an elastic bassline and trippy lead. Pimp C's 'Where My Bitches' is a sleazy and ghetto-tinged pumper and Jesse Merlin brings some warped low ends and twitchy synth menace to the prowling rhythms of closer 'Do The Umm'. Essential tackle.