Tags: NY Garage

Review: For his latest release, Tommy Musto delves into his venerated DAT vaults to unearth a treasure trove of mid-'90s NYC gems that are sure to excite house heads. These four tracks capture the essence of the legendary likes of Red Zone, Club Zanzibar, Twilo, and Sound Factory scenes and do a fine job of evoking the vibes that legends like Frankie Knuckles, Tony Humphries, Roger Sanchez, Tommy Simonelli, Masters at Work, and David Morales were all spinning back in the halcyon days of house. Now, you can own a piece of that iconic era with these deep cuts sure to bring back that classic house sound in some style.

Review: While nowhere near as celebrated as some of his NYC contemporaries, Tommy Musto made some incredible music at the turn of the 90s, flitting between breakbeat-driven, techno-tinged heaviness and heady, sample-rich house. The Lost Dubs Volume 1 takes us back to that period via a quartet of contemporaneous cuts recently unearthed in the producer's vaults. There's much to admire throughout, from the driving, bass-heavy hedonism of 'Holdin' On', a track propelled forwards by insatiable organ riffs and breathless beats, and the extra-percussive early morning headiness of 'Baby's Right' - all delay-laden Rhodes licks, funky bass guitar, mazy synth solos and Masters At Work style house beats - to the Victor Simonelli style saucer-eyed warmth of 'Love Is Needed' and the sleazy, Kenny Dope style heaviness of 'Keep It Movin'. Genuine buried treasure!

Review: Earlier this year, legendary NY house label King Street Sounds was acquired by Armada Music. The Dutch imprint plans to reissue many of the well-known - and lesser-celebrated - gems from the King Street vaults in the months and years ahead. To kick things off, they've delivered this vinyl sampler featuring some of the stable's most admired cuts of all time. So, we get Dennis Ferrer's iconic remix of Blaze and Barbara Tucker's gospel-powered soulful house anthem, 'Most Precious Love', the 'King Street Mix' of Jovonn's legendary deep, bumpin' tribute to New Jersey's Club Zanzibar, 'Back To Zanzibar', Mood II Swing's hot and heavy 'moody club mix' of their own Carole Sylvan collaboration 'Closer' and the all-time deep house classic that is the Wamdue Black extended rework of 'Cascades of Colour' by Ananda Project. Simply essential!

Review: Timmy Regisford's remix of Basic Black's 'Don't Make Me Fall In Love' squarely pegs the former's vision in dance music: a fusion of uptempo soul with clear lyrical locutions and sharp grooves. As vice president and A&R at Motown, Regisford played a crucial role in the success of Basic Black's 1990 debut album, a hallmark of the new jack swing era. In his rework, the iconic DJ and co-founder of Club Shelter reimagines the track through an unmistakable New York dance lens, preserving it in the oral traditions of soul and bassy, ballroom house. Formerly a rare white label, this remix was originally exclusive to New York's DJing elite, and never officially released as a single until now. Restored from a DAT tape in Tony Humphries' archive, this rewrap includes a never-before-heard instrumental version and a bass-and-beats-only edit, cryopreserving Regisford's jackin', frosty touch.

Review: We can hear a hint of early New York house heads like Todd Terry in the way the drums are constructed on this new one from Toribio, who has linked up with Sharin for an authentic vocal flourish. Her silky tones lend real quality to the choppy analogue drums and lodge top lines deep in your brain. After the original comes an alternate mix with some extra jazzy chords moving about the mix, and then closing things out is a Crackazat remix. In this one, the drums take on a bit of a garage swing with extra weight making you move while the soulful vocal flair remains in place up top.

Review: Victor Simonelli's house music legacy is assured - he more than made his mark on the genre back in the 90s with plenty of iconic cuts and legendary DJ sets and now that is all being highlighted by this ongoing multi-part series from Unknwn. The comprehensive collection looks at the early years here with some of his top mixes including those that have not previously been released. There is an in-depth almost hour-long audio and written interview between BTG founder Alex Rose and Victor to go with this release that is well worth finding.

Review: Unknwn kick off a multi-part double pack series here that serves a deserving light on the work of New York artist Victor Simonelli, who is famous for working with Afrika Bambaataa to help mix the epic 'Planet Rock'. As both a DJ and a producer he made a huge mark on the genre back in the 90s and it is that period which is in focus here. This is a real collectors' piece from the Behind The Groove crew that's packed with vital cuts from the rare mixes of Rain Page and EZ-AL to Cloud 9's 'Do You Want Me' via Solution's 'Feel So Right', all of which provide undoubted proof that he was a man on fire back in those golden early days.

Review: Strictly Rhythm's 30th anniversary series of "Best Of" double-packs should be an essential purchase for all those looking to grab some high-grade U.S house from the 1990s and 2000s. As you'd expect, there's some genuine peak-time gold to be found on this second salvo in the series. After beginning with the bumping U.S garage richness of Barbara Tucker's gospel-flecked "Beautiful People", the set variously touches on glitchy deep house goodness (DJ T re-editing the "Full Effect" mix of Essence's "Moments In House"), stomping and muscular deep house (DJ Sneak), jazz-funk inspired house dreaminess (the original version of Wamdue's "King of My Castle") and ambidextrous dancefloor sweatiness (the Kenny Dope style breakbeats, heavy bass and woozy pads of Soul Fusion's "Basstone (Underground Network Mix)".