Tags: New Jersey Garage

Review: On this second, more expansive sampler for his forthcoming album Spaces & Places, Kerri Chandler treats us to tracks inspired by - and by the wonders of mobile recording technology, produced inside - clubs including Dublin's District 8, Glasgow institution Sub Club, Lux of Lisbon and NYC's Output. Of course, the standard is uniformly high throughout - it's classic Chandler from start to finish - but our picks of a very fine bunch include the soulful piano house shimmer of 'Change Your Mind', the thrusting, bass-heavy pump of 'Subbie (Rattle The Subbie Mix)', the effortlessly slick and soulful 'Tenacity (Full Vocal Mix)' and the ludicrously sub-heavy snap of 'See The Light (Dub)'. To borrow an old cliche, this is very much, 'all killer, no filler'.

Review: Born out of a friendship stretching back many years, DJ Sneak lets loose two heavyweight house weapons on Darius Syrossian's Moxy Muzik, with label head Syrossian also serving up his own Sneak sampling slice of heat, complete with a remix from none other than Todd Edwards. The A-siders, 'Blow Ya Mind' and 'Return Of The Gas', are trademark Sneak; punchy and passionate, with a real OG's touch. On the flip, Syrossian slots into place a perfectly-sampled section of one of Sneak's voicenotes to him for 'Big Bizness'; it's a beefy roller, certainly not messing about. For the sendoff, Todd Edwards famously heard it, loved it, and was brought in to remix it in true Todd 'The God' style.

Review: Endangered Musique kicks off with a high-quality reissue of an EP that deep house heads will either already know or soon grow to love. It was written by Jose Chinga in 1994 and is an alias of an artist better known as Brothers' Vibe aka Tony Rodriguez. The opening tune 'Love Is What You Need' is also the most well-known - it's US garage with low-slung drums and grainy pad work with a simple but effective vocal. 'I Got You' picks up the pace with shuffling drums and a grinding lead before the warm 90s house sounds come to the fore again on 'Let It Go' and 'Riding On A Cloud'. Lovely stuff.

Review: Nu Groove's ongoing edits series turns its attention to one of the legendary NYC's most iconic early release, Bas Noir's 1988 garage-house classic 'My Love Is Magic' - a piano-powered vocal number fronted by two female singers from New Jersey and produced by the Burrell Brothers. Their original club mix is featured (A2), alongside a trio of fresh re-edits. Bushwacka kicks things off with a deeper, more sonically detailed and marginally punchier rework that makes much of the Burrell brothers' percussion and piano stabs, before Mark Broom takes over on side two. His 'dub retouch' fittingly sounds like a piano solo-sporting NYC house dub of the late 1980s - no bad thing in our book - while his more revolutionary 'A12 mix' re-casts the track as a harder, heavier peak-time loop jam.

Review: Some serious house action going on here with the legendary deep house pioneer Kerri Chandler linking up with Dennis Quin and Troy Denari for their own unique take on the 1998 house classic 'You're In My System'. The original has been a key part of many of the best DJs' record bags for decades and now it gets a contemporary twist. Chandler brings his signature soulful keys and pounding kick drums - all using the same hardware that was used on the original, we're told, while singer-songwriter Troy Denari adds his new vocals to the track. On the flip is a paired back and warm, deep, driving DQ dub, all pressed up on nice blue vinyl.

Review: Kerri Chandler's first album in over 14 years, 'Spaces and Places', is a celebration of club and sound system culture. The album features 24 tracks, each inspired by and recorded at a different club around the world, such as Ministry of Sound, Sub Club, Watergate, Output NYC and more. The album showcases the veteran NYC producer and DJ's signature sound of soulful, deep and groovy house music, with vocals, piano, sax, strings and synths. 'Spaces and Places' is a testament to Chandler's love for music and dancefloors.