Author Archive
Russia’s Meowsn’ hands in a 4-track release to Chicago-based Star Creature. The EP as a whole is in the vein of house and quite warm overall. The tracks are straightforward, mellow, yet dance-floor friendly, and modern, but retrospectively styled. “Be Close Bee” is seemingly very Detroit-influenced in its styling. In terms of sampling and composition, [&hellip[ READ MORE ]
Ron Trent’s Bee Gees sampling “Dancin'” gets reworked by a tetrad of producers. All of the remixes are deep-house leaning, though each carry a mood of their own. Fellow Chicagoans Ed Nine and Jordan Fields get things rolling with their contributions. The aforementioned establishes a driving beat before shifting focus to soft chord stabs and [&hellip[ READ MORE ]
Aux88 – Bass Magnetic 2xlp – Direct Beat . . . . . . . . . Kuniyuki Takahashi – Newwave Project 2xlp – Mule Musiq . . . . . . . . . Future Sound Of London – Archived : Environmental : Views 3xlp – fsoldigital.com . . . . . . . [&hellip[ READ MORE ]
DJ Jes and Studio Nova a.k.a Mazi Namvar hand in a pair of house tracks, each receiving a remix. DJ Jes’ “Genuine Flo” leans in the direction of sampled disco-house, and carries uplifting party vibes. Meanwhile, Garrett David’s interpretation is summery, and in a different vein than the original. The lighthearted, upbeat, discoey vibes start [&hellip[ READ MORE ]
Chicago-based Star Creature features work by Seoul’s Mogwaa for its recent release. The EP showcases 6 recordings. The vibes are chill and retrospective; the record is looking back at the early 80’s for much of its influence. Though listeners looking for laid-back grooves could certainly gravitate towards any number of these songs, the title track [&hellip[ READ MORE ]
Chicago-based Stripped and Chewed welcomes 4 tracks from Sly Fox Records’ co-founder Appian. The release as a whole is airy, light-hearted, and deep house-leaning. The title track opens with classic house drum-programming and cool chords, before diving into keyboard riffs. “Flight” features a nice groove, and more mellow atmospheres. The Bell Boys add more classic [&hellip[ READ MORE ]
Adding yet another to his collection of releases, Jeff Mills continues on his quest of concocting sci-fi atmospheres. The record comprises 5 tracks. As usual, Mills welcomes a fair amount of dissonance, resulting in a cold, strange, yet comforting listen. The A-side features the delayed drums of “Reflectivity” and shimmering arpeggiations of “Planet X”. I’m [&hellip[ READ MORE ]
Chicago’s Jamie 3:26, a.k.a. Jamie Watson, hands in a couple of edits for his latest release on Sweden’s G.A.M.M. Side A includes the title track, a catchy and cheerful,10 minute disco edit. “Blessin'” is stripped-down, making it pliable and mix-friendly. The flip side of the record is reserved for the reworked Italo-disco cut, “Whole Lotta [&hellip[ READ MORE ]
The UK’s Peacefrog Records reissues this 1997 Gemini album. Here you’ll find a piece of Chicago’s house music history, as well as a bunch of mix-friendly tunes for a dance DJ’s bag. The tracks are straight-forward, stripped-down, and in a style that seemingly still inspires folks today. Recordings like “Freefall” and “Pelagorium” are bright, mellow, [&hellip[ READ MORE ]
Autechre – Tri Repetae 2xlp – WARP . . . . . . . . . Acid Jesus – Interstate 12″ – Ego . . . . . . . . . Mark Ernestus’ Ndagga Rhythm Force – Yermande lp – Ndagga . . . . . . . . . Simon W – System [&hellip[ READ MORE ]
Having seen a couple releases on Regis and Female’s label Downwards, Talker (Karl Meier and Johnathan Krohn) bring three blistering, boisterous techno tunes to the table. This release marks the first for new label Standards and Practices. The tracks are dense, quite dark, seemingly heavily layered, with overdriven elements, and aimed for sweaty dancefloors or [&hellip[ READ MORE ]
Various artists come together for a 5-track release on the Los Angelean newcomer label Black Lodge Recordings. There’s quite a bit of variety in the realm of techno on this release. Things start out with a lo-fi, acid-tinged contribution from VeXaTioN, and continue with a sparse, minimal number from Brown Irvin. Kosmik’s “The Endless Void” [&hellip[ READ MORE ]
Oliver Siebert and disco-tinged house group Crazy P, team up for a single on Osunlade’s Yoruba Records. The result is a super DJ-friendly, mellow, disco-influenced house number. Some of the strings and pads, vocal samples, and percussive elements form a palette that reminds me of Moodymann or Norma Jean Bell. Though I wouldn’t quite put [&hellip[ READ MORE ]
Veteran Terrence Parker serves up some straightforward, super happy, feel-good house for his most recent album. Expect mix-friendly four-to-the-floor beats, vocal tracks, big room sounds, and plenty of retrospective keyboard chord stabs to go around. With more than 2 decades of experience, the album is very well produced. Seemingly paying homage to the 90’s, the [&hellip[ READ MORE ]
Gerard Hanson a.k.a. Convextion’s latest album finds him in a much different place from last year’s theatrical, sci-fi, ambient release on Acido Records. Here, listeners will find a septet of Techno tracks backed by a beat. The production style often carries a futuristic element; the pads are cool and the percussive elements are sharp, minimal, [&hellip[ READ MORE ]
Osunlade’s Yoruba Records represses Afefe Iku’s 2008 hit, Mirror Dance. This is a solid single. However, it was played so much, I actually remember getting sick of it. African-inspired house rhythms and catchy, marimba-like, melodic percussion make up the meat of this track. Osunlade’s additional production and Oveous Maximus’ vocals provide a slightly deeper interpretation [&hellip[ READ MORE ]
Victor Aguinaga and Nick Marshall’s Chicago-based Perpetual Rhythms elects Warren Harris, a.k.a. Hanna, for their latest 12”. The result is a bit of a departure from Perpetual Rhythms’ usual deep-house excursions. Rather one will find a quartet of downtempo, broken-beat, hip-hop, and jazz-influenced recordings; the vibes are mellow, yet bright. All of the tracks settle [&hellip[ READ MORE ]
God Particle’s most recent release features the work of San Francisco’s Christina Chatfield. The EP presents a pair of techno tracks on the A-side and 2 acid-influenced tracks on the flip side. The content is 4-to-the-floor, lively, and geared towards dancing. “Circadian” is first up with punchy percussion, and a synth line that gives the [&hellip[ READ MORE ]
With releases on labels such as Eglo and Lo Recordings, Kieron Ifill makes another appearance on Kyle Hall’s Wild Oats. The two-disc LP is mellow, sunny-hued, and lighthearted, with jazz, funk, and house influences. Ifill shows some nice chops on various synths and keys throughout the record. The release as a whole shows quite a [&hellip[ READ MORE ]
Federico Benedetti, Claus Voigtmann, Tolga Fidan, and Pablo Tarno all contribute tracks for Berlin-based Finest Hour Records. Onirik (a.k.a. Benedetti) starts things off with Detroit-style pads and fidgety house beats, then Voigtmann closes out the A-side with his minimal perspective. Flipping the record reveals plenty of interesting sounds and quirky synth work on Tolga Fidan’s [&hellip[ READ MORE ]