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| The Rurals |
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I'm Lost (remixes) |
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Peng |
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I love Devon's finest (and deepest), The Rurals, but very occasionally find the production on their 12s can fall a little flat. This is rarely the case with Chris Brann, whose work usually blends mood, melody and space, and is rarely less than polished, and so this batch of remixes, led by a punchy Ananda Project version, hits the spot just fine. In fact, all mixes are well worth a listen. |
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| Ananda Project ft. Heather Johnson |
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Let Love Fly |
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NiteGrooves |
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Talking of Mr Brann, one listen of this should convey what I mean. I'm not sure how many mixes I now have of this lovely tune but, as decent as Joe Claussell's treatment is here, I'm not sure any version tops the delightful original. Of course, as I keep banging on, this melodic and musical stuff, with great vocals and instrumentation, may no longer be in vogue, but I suspect it has far greater longevity and sustained appeal than much of the half-baked electro-pop that you'll find on all those big label dance compilations. |
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| Little Big Bee, LADM, Sunshine Jones, Dubtribe |
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Sublevel Sampler 4 |
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Sublevel |
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| Jacob |
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Inspirations EP |
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Baker Street |
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| Various |
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Drumpoems Verse 1 |
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Drumpoet Community |
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On a different tip, moving to the sparser, deeper, head-nodding stuff, here's a double pack for the dub headz (at least two of these cuts represent deep tracky house meeting sparse dubbed-out reggae). Minimal drama, but the Sunshine Jones track is a builder and the dubbed out 'Do It Now' is a mesmeric version of a track which has sneaked itself classic status.
And if you like the deep tracky stuff, both the Jacob and Drumpoet Community EPs should appeal too. |
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| DJ Fudge |
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Wally |
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KIF |
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Fudge, like his compatriot Franck Rogers, has been pretty productive of late, with an output that showcases various styles of house music and nearly all of it is well worth a listen, with some of it quite outstanding. This ep offers 2 chunky percussive grooves embellished with raw and beguiling African vocalising, but with plenty of atmosphere too for a deeper vibe, and, in 'Souvenirs', an extra and swinging track built around some substantial jazzy loops. Good stuff. |
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| Jay Tripwire presents Bodyrhythm |
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Deepen Your Mind |
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Seasons |
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I've always liked Tripwire's style but some of his output gets lost for me simply because of the fact that there now appears to be a lot of talented producers producing a fair amount of similar bumpin', swinging tech-edged stuff. That said, this ep from the long-running and ever-reliable Seasons label is just great. All 3 tracks move along just fine and pack enough atmosphere and audio elements to keep the listener engaged. My personal fave is 'Dancer's Vibe' with its dramatic, lustrous piano lines. And I've just remembered Tripwire's excellent mix from a fair few months back of the Loststars track on the very good UK-based Lost My Dog label. |
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| Vernon and Decosta |
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On Fire |
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Second Smell |
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| Giom |
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Stolen Soul ep |
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Amenti Music |
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And here's two more solid examples of that bumpty swinging style of house; choppy and sample-led, but both these producers know how to inject sufficient energy and musical elements to avoid their tracks seeming overly repetitious. The Second Smell label is an offshoot of Aroma, and rising star Giom had a great remix of a track (from UK vocalist Natalie Williams, I think) on that label earlier in the year. |
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| Ane Brun |
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Headphone Silence |
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Objektivity |
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| Dennis Ferrer |
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Transitions |
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King Street Sounds |
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The much respected Henrik Schwarz and the ubiquitous Dennis Ferrer team up to create another of those quirky deep epics that Ferrer's label appears to specialise in. Here, the delicate and enchanting vocal from Norwegian folk chanteuse Brun is underpinned by a chugging groove embellished by building synth and string sections. I prefer the Dixon edit but Ferrer's bolder beast is probably the one for the dancefloor.
The more recent 'Transitions' from Ferrer is another of his deepish slightly techy outings with another of those 'the power of house' spoken word things, and it workls just fine, but I suggest this is worth purchasing for the great extras on the flip, with Jihad Muhammad and the mighty Charles Webster offering interpretations of earlier Ferrer output. |
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| Fred everything feat. Lisa Shaw |
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Here I Am |
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Om |
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| Lisa Shaw |
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All Night High |
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Salted |
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Two mighty fine pieces of San Fran house - alright, Mr Everything is Canadian, but surely his heart and inspiration resides south of the border on the west coast. And both tracks are blessed by the divine Ms. Shaw. As Jay Dene's Naked Music seems to have pretty much abandoned the urge to make dance records some time ago and now gone down an artist-based and album-led path, moving towards what I guess can be described as atmospheric deep soul-pop, it's up to labels like Om and Mig's Salted to carry the torch and still keep an eye on the dancefloor. If you like instantly accessible vocal house of impeccable style and class, these tracks will certainly suit you, sir. Or ma'am. |
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| Jafar feat. Rich Medina |
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The Undeniable Truth |
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Artizan |
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I guess this must be local hero Jafar, who has been showcasing his excellent DJing skills in south and west London and beyond for quite a few years now and has started putting out some solid releases. Here, the great spoken vocal from the multi-talented Medina makes a smart change from those somewhat too familiar ramblings about 'House music being a way of life'. |
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| Alex Finkin and Reverenn P, feat. Jocelyn Mathieu |
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Lion in a Cage |
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Funk La Planet |
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A spritely and soulful track, and not difficult to see what attracted Cutler to it. The same duo had a storming sax-led track out last year that really rocks, but this shows they can be a little more subtle too, |
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| Studio Apartment |
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Rising Sun Sampler |
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King Street Sounds |
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And still on the soulful vibe, any ep which features 3 separate tracks showcasing the mighty fine voices of Kenny Bobien, Joi Cardwell and Monique Bingham is likely to represent both great value and sheer class. And this doesn't disappoint. Japan's Studio Apartment have been working with the very cream of the US house scene for some time now and this spritely jazzy soulful stuff will always have a place in my heart and box. One has to hope that the popularity of the likes of the Reel People and Dave Lee's Sunburst Band in the UK will ensure a solid audience for grown-up house music of this type. |
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| Soulphiction/Eva be |
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Based on Misunderstandings 1 |
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Sonar Kollective |
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In contrast to the above, but on another great label, here it's the Lost Men mix of the Soulphiction track that caught my attention - an idiosyncratic leftfield vocal on a piano-led but subtle houser. Actually, I've just dug out the original of this from earlier in the year on the same label and it's also an intriguing little deep plodder which draws you in.
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