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| Showing Reviews From 1 to 10 of 49 |
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Foundations EP |
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Foundations EP
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Reed and Radley
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DiY
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Barry Reeves
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25 Jun 2004
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na |
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Barry Reeves |
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DIY show off their quality deep house roots with this release by Kiwi based producers Reed and Radley. Things kick off with the vocal cut 'Just Buggin' which is a light garage groover followed by 'Get It Right' which kicks in with a druggy synth pad and deep steppin bassline. This is the kind of wanged out, trippy garage that has become the DIY trademark. On the flip, the boys get deep and dirty in a Drop Music style with 'New Buzz'. This is a class track and my fav on the EP with its washed out sounds and positive vibes. 'Track 4 rent' finishes things off with some top percussion and dreamy vocal stabs. If your thinking of having any outdoor parties this summer then don't leave the house without this wee number or you'll regret it in the morning when the sun comes up.
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Controls the Sounds |
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Controls the Sounds
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Fresh N Low
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Elevation
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Barry Reeves
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25 Jun 2004
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na |
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Barry Reeves |
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Both deep and lush, this ep sounds like Roy Ayers making house music. The man called Calum Walker, who is famed for his productions on Guidance, Large and many many other quality house labels is a master of this sound. And here he certainly provides Elevation with some uplifting deep house music. 'Controls the Sound' is a fat piece of garage influenced house music with a strong funk vibe. Perfect for the summer. Next up 'Soul Vibration' sees Walker dipping into broken beat vocal garage territory with lush vocals on top. But my fav is Universal 7 with it upbeat skippy riddims and ska influenced party horns. Elevating music indeed...
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The Truth |
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The Truth
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Lawnchair Generals
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Double Down
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Barry Reeves
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25 Jun 2004
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na |
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Barry Reeves |
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The Lawnchair posse demonstrate on this release for Lowdown that they are experts at producing a hybrid of deep house, silken techno and smooth garage grooves. The music is beautifully produced and simply jumps off the needle. The first track 'The Truth' is smooth and sophisticated, yet still underground. Even when the old school pumpin bassline drops in the middle of the track you hardly notice it's arrival except for a subtle feeling that something good has occurred. This is because you're so caught up by that time in the layers of sonic lushness and downright grooviness to bother much about anything. This is the kind of sound pioneered by the likes of Drop Music's Inland Knights, but the Generals prove that whatever the Nottingham boys can do they can do just as good. On the flip, 'Watching You' has a distinctly more 80s feel to it and is more techy and glitchy, while still being groovy. Think Bionic Bump Band and others in the 20:20 Vision stable and you'll not be far off. The last track 'Speechless' didn't quite do it for me but is another slice of future garage. However, all the music is very well made and will work well in DJ sets and if you are already fans of Drop and 2020 then this should tickle your fancy. |
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U History |
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U History
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Seinan
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TronicSole
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Barry Reeves
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02 Apr 2004
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na |
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Barry Reeves |
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Dubmeisters Gordon Logan and Andy Graham from Glasgow spin another top quality piece of dubhouse on the city's Tronicsole imprint. The original is very well produced. It has a perfect balance between dancefloor bottom end and warm, smooth lay back and listen on the middle and top end. The drums are tight and strong and there is plenty of atmosphere in there as usual provided by their trademark sfx and snippets of delayed spoken voices. But the track is made by the smooth reggae style sax which is silky smooth and is guaranteed to press the emotions button everytime. Blissful stuff from two very promising young producers. On the flip, Mr Jay Tripwire does two remixes of the track which up the tempo and boost the levels. These remixes will probably work on many dancefloors and appeal to those with more pumpin tastes, but they lack the musical quality and blissed out vibe of the original. So personally I'll be sticking to the A-side. |
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Vanguard Nights |
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Vanguard Nights
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JT Donaldson
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Vista
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Barry Reeves
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02 Apr 2004
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na |
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Barry Reeves |
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A real retrurn to form for the man called JT Donaldson. The title track is a Classic-style dubby funker which uses jazz elements absolutely brilliantly and comes up with a combination which will drive most dancefloors wild. There's elements of Sneak and Chicago in there for sure but all within the very classy, well produced framework we expect from this excellent producer. On the flip, 'Let it Ride' is a Herbert style groover with nice keys, warm bass and skippy beats. Nice and deep and well produced, it will be perfect for warm up and bar slots and for those who like to keep it deep as the deep blue sea. |
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Koobla Cuts EP |
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Koobla Cuts EP
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Metta & JT Love
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Flip-Flop
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Barry Reeves
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25 Feb 2004
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na |
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Barry Reeves |
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Metta and Jt Love otherwise known as the Bionic Bump Band play at home for this interesting 4-tracker. It all starts with a piece of Acid House nostalgia called 'Cold Brew' which has been worked in Swag-like style into a tracky, skipping groove with plenty of cuts up bits of effected vocal throughout. It's kind of Swag/Drop style house meets early Acid Trax. The second track 'Someone Else in my Edit' has more of a deep, lush feel to it and travels more in the direction of Detroit for its influences. Meanwhile on the flip, things hot up again with the tricky sounding 'Gordon's Alive' which has a choppy, cut up feel to it. Warm bass and a bit of 303 give it that classic deep 20:20 Vision sound. Classic and Derrick Carter enthusiasts really should try out this sound as it sits very nicely with a lot of their recent quirky, nostalgic but funky releases. The last track, Bump Me, returns to the Acid House nostalgia with straight-forward, tight drums, sub bass and 303. From there the track opens up into more synth nostalgia and subtle but driving chord stabs take the music straight back into Detroit territory. Top sounds.
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Show Me Right |
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Show Me Right
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DJ Ali & Tim Fuller
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Manali Records
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Barry Reeves
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25 Feb 2004
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na |
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Barry Reeves |
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I've not heard of this label before, but this is a wicked release. DJ Ali is known for his productions for labels such as Village, Tilted and Classic. This track is one of those ones that are going to transform your night for you. It's lazy kind of tempo, live sounding drums, moody electronic bass and almost spooky sound effects give it a dirty funk feel similar to Roy Davis Jr's About Love. But its the Prince cum Curtis Mayfield falsetto vocals which truly break open the funk box and let it loose. While the dub on the flip is ok, it's the vocal mix which is going change the whole place and fuck it up in a deeply funky way. I love it. |
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Early Bath EP |
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Early Bath EP
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The Littlemen
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Mobiletrax
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Barry Reeves
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25 Feb 2004
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na |
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Barry Reeves |
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The Littlemen of Drop Music fame kick things off in real style on this their new label Mobiletrax. On the A-side there is a real catchy and tracky vocal cut called 'Tell Me', which rocks. Pretty different to what they've done before which is good. As far as the music goes its nice loopy stuff with a warm played sounding bassline and snappy drums which hold the whole affair together. This straight-forward groove provides the rhythm track on which the catchy and soulful female vocal rides. Simple but effective, it makes me think of the headsdown dubbiness of Drop added to the soulfulness of someone like the Sunkids. Nice idea that.. On the flip, 'Get Funky' is the most Drop sounding track of the lot with its tracky, funky and dubby approach and for that reason it didn't really make much of an impression on me. Lastly, the final cut 'Skeleton Keys' is a very nice bar groove with its rhodes keys, string stabs and 80s bass pressing on the disco-funk nostalgia button. This is a very useful package by two of the UK's top house producers. And it will be great to see what direction their music will take now that they have their own imprint. Great to have had the success of releases on Drop and great to have the chance to do something kind of new. |
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Underground Heroes |
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Underground Heroes
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Various
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Urbantorque
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Barry Reeves
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16 Dec 2003
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na |
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Barry Reeves |
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A tasty compilation package indeed from the Urbantorque label. The music kicks off with a deep and groovy chugger called 'Jaz Jam' courtesy of Nottingham's finest the Inland Knights. Plenty of energy and some nice chords and stabs on this dubby dancefloor track. The next track, 'Gaslamp' by Flow , is not as straight forward and clubby, but it has more of an interest factor as a result. It's very 80s in flavour with a strong synth-sounding kick drum, electronic bass and plenty of large synth stabs and keys. If you're an 80s revivalist you're really going to dig this. Then comes the biggest surprise as far as I'm concerned...a funky as fuck Tony Thomas track which hasn't even got a hint of tribal in it. A short Chicago style jazz funk loop (which is destined get even the laziest arse twitching to the groove) is the basic ingredient. With splashy, skippy drums and nice deep bass stabs on top of that the method employed by Mr Thomas is stripped down and simple, but incredibly effective. The e.p. finishes off with a kind of Detroit house sounding number called 'Bomb this Place' by Dealer's Choice which just doesn't do it for me. While it is inoffensive it also lacks a bit of orignality and energy, but then again it's not really my kind of gear. All in all though this is a very nicely balanced package from Urbantorque with a real variety of tracks and musical styles included that will suit different times, moods and venues. There's something for everyone here and that makes it an essential addition to any house DJ's box. |
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Hot Soup E.P. |
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Hot Soup E.P.
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Inland Knights
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So Sound
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Barry Reeves
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16 Dec 2003
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na |
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Barry Reeves |
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The Inland Knights are just so consistently good that you can sometimes start to take their skills for granted. This E.P. on the So Sound label is a wee reminder then of the talent that these two Northern house producers have. The title track is a classic mixture of tidy and tight Drop-style drums with an atmospheric spoken word sample and background crowd noises that are more Moodymann in style than anything else. Add to that the space in the track and the heavy Detroit style chords/bass and well you've got a fantastic fusion of dance styles which works a treat. Detroit meets Pulp Fusion done Nottingham style! Flip over to the b-side and things kick off with 'Blame' which is a more regular Drop affair with its dubby bass and catchy vocal sample lick. Nice, but nowhere near as good as the last track 'Like this' which for me wins the overall prize as it is as funky as Shaft on a hot date and has a floormover factor of about +10. It's pure shuffling Chicago style and I can't stop playing it. Worth every penny. Get two copies!! |
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