Deep, smoky House music from two Spanish producers, Tesla Records' DjF and Downbeat associate JRico. A-side features the deep, almost mystical transportation of 'Shyncrono' working a dusky shade of House akin to Kassem Mosse or Legowelt's most melancholy Detroit/Chicago moments. Flipside 'Freebeat' rides a plump, grumbling bass and under twinkling, fragrantly far eastern melodies and 'The Clock' checks a more stripped down, ghostly 4/4 groove for the most smudged ends of the morning.
Naturally for a producer who prefers to remain anonymous and call themselves A Drummer From Detroit and name their debut EP Drums, both tracks here veer into dextrously percussive house territory. Amidst the dizzying, jazz influenced rattle of Shake Shakir style rhythms that characterise the A Side workout our erstwhile protagonist weaves in desperate vocal strains and overtly dramatic piano and horn stabs which only serve to increase the panic inducing pace. The flipside treatment is slightly slower in its execution, yet increases the jazz funk melodic elements which make it the less a hectic and more involving production.
Oakland based Damon Bell curates his first vinyl release with >Kush Musik Wax<. Damons productions are always rich with mood, swing, and depth. This release plays on Damons archival tendencies as a DJ leaning heavily on his influences of Dub, Jazz, and all things Deep. The release starts off with Damons much heralded >Ezuku< which found its way onto the playlists of Rick Wilhite amongst others. >Idiya< displays Damons flair for arrangement as he twists the vibe midway thru landing you in a completely different space than the opening. >Kymestry< is an uplifting Deep House trip that brought a smile to the face of Ron Trent while at the Deepblak studios. Closing things out is label head AYBEE with a Deep mid-tempo Dub of >Ezuku<.
Veteran of the German House scene, Marvin Dash aka Ronald Reuter lays down three authentically deep and heavy grooves for Workshop. A-side is suave, mid-tempo nod to Detroit Beatdown inspirations with that effortless sense of German finesse and soul control. Flipside there's a disco-looping killer, hitting the groove somewhere between KDJ and NWAQ and bound to become a permanent fixture in a lot of record bags, before finishing on a weirder, left-field boogie-House number.
So after the “Elusive Triumph” of our first release finally came firmly into our grasp, we at Sequencias here in New York thought it was time to take things in a parallel direction without retracing our steps. Drafting three top names in underground deep house for a label debut is no mean feat, but how do you follow up on a surprise coup like that? We thought it was time to go even deeper, and we couldn’t think of a better way of doing that than getting an experienced player to unveil a new alias for our second offering. Things being as they are, we’re trying to keep it a bit low here, but what we can let you know is that his discography stretches back to 2005 and that he’s appeared on the illustrious Bunker Records. This should give you a good idea of what to expect: deeper-than-deep, dirty, and gritty house that jacks with the best the movement has to offer. We have to say that Orpheus firmly delivers here, and we hope you’ll be as pleased as we are with the three dark and introspective offerings he unveils for his new project here at Sequencias.
The Londinium EP is the latest release on Uzuri Recordings and welcomes Chicago Skyway back to the fold. Not that he’s been away too long, having produced a full 12” release and contributed to the ‘From Chicago Turin Amsterdam & Dublin With Love EP’ just last year. We also welcome Hakim Murphy to the label – with his credentials it was only a matter of time before our paths crossed!As the title suggests, this release was inspired, conceptually at least, by our nation’s capital, and it’s apparent that Sean has spent quite enough time here to get the gist of the place, with the B-side tracks entitled Traffic and Noise, respectively. I’m sure he loves it here, really.Musically, he keeps it closer to his Windy City heart – very clearly reflecting his roots, in fact.
Lethal Techno trax from René Pawlowitz aka Shed in EQD mode. Once again we're floored by the ferocity and hard-nosed discipline of his productions, from the monstrous modulations and Industrial-edged transmission on the A-side thru the unrelenting peak of the B-side.
asusu | tmthp dj qu | the zones vinalog | ? mike huckaby | wavetable no.9 move d | b1 farben | so much love and | hydrothermal skudge | man on wire levon vincent | revs / cost appointment 4 | a1 raime | if anywhere was here he would know where we are
Here comes a much anticipated first A Made Up Sound release in over a year. The last was his ‘Rear Window’ excursion on Delsin (and of course the small matter of the most excellent Fever full length as 2562) but now the man like Dave Huismans is back. Back with a track many fans will already know from 2562/A Made Up Sound DJ sets over the last few months. ‘Take The Plunge’ is a deconstructed, electric workout of weird machine sounds and thudding kicks, under lapping beats and raw energy. A beat-less version comes on the flip with great reactions pouring in for it already, whilst you also get ‘Anger Mgmt’ a drunken, stumbling ride through metallic percussion, broken drums and desecrated urban landscapes… no one does patchwork rhythms quite like this man.
Limited, blink-and-miss drop from Theo on his Sound Signature imprint. As you might guess from the title, 'Shut The F*ck Up' is one of his grimier, more rugged productions, cutting out any bullsh*t for a bare bones MPC and synth jam in two versions. On the longer session he lets rip with gritty, downslow, jazz-timed rhythms synced to a snaky, ranting acid sequence in a cryptic, esoteric dialogue on dancefloor physics and Afro-futurism. Flipside he reigns himself in for a shorter version concentrating on swaggering drum fluctuations and that abstract acid chat. Basically, it's sounds like nobody else out there.
After several releases on Creme and M>O>S, Nation as well as collaborations as 2AMFM, Saturn V, X2 etc, here is D'Marc Cantu's debut Album on Creme JAK.
After some challenging an experimental offerings last time out, secretive musicos Purple Maze are to release their second offering, the Rave EP. It comes from equally low-key producer Yør, and is a release that operates a little closer to the dancefloor than maze 001.Despite the opening track’s title, though, ‘Rave’ is still no mindless banger. It’s heavy, analogue and deep house with a well-swung kick swaying back and forth to start it off. Soon as some minor chords drop in from above, though, the air turns dark and somber and things wallow. But with the arrival of some sandy hi-hats and grimy percussion, the mood grows optimistic rather than pessimistic, and picks up momentum as a result.‘Golden Boy’ is slightly more mobile from the off. Again taught analogue bass notes start it, but nebulous samples and percussive sounds flesh out the structure as a panning tick grows louder and a radiant synth line weaves its way throughout the whole mix, threating to explode into euphoria. As a result you stayed lock in, willing it to break out, but it doesn’t… the subtle joy of the chase is immeasurable.‘2712’ is like eavesdropping on a busy dancefloor from somewhere underground: The whole thing is in fine grain, with soft focus beats and indecipherable voices all muffled by static and tape hiss. It fades and dissipates with no warning and sounds as if it started long before we tuned in, and will go on long after the thing finishes… eerie, earthy stuff.
Unique minimalist Tech-House sound designs from the increasingly on-point Gerry Read for Ramp's Fourth Wave offshoot. With 'We Are' Read slips somewhere between the texturhythms of Matthew Herbert or Farben and the low-slung swing of Joy O and Theo Parrish, all simulated surfaces and speaker-pushing bass shapes with a real crispy shake. Flipside with 'Narry' the Herbert analogue is clearly apparent on a nudged, looping House groove with bags of augmented soul flavour.
Timeless, instant-classic material from the one and only Levon Vincent! Having played our copies of 'Man Or Mistress' and just about every other Levon 12" to the hilt by now, new material is always welcome, but he's spoiling us here. The A-side is a modern tribal House masterpiece, shaking the drums into a mammoth, speaker-owning subbass while layers of star-screaming synths expand and envelope your mind with jaw-dropping psychedelic dynamism. Then there's the B-side. 'Revs/Cost' opens the account with steppin' snare punctuations and rib crushing subs before a lashing dub chord rifles thru the whole thing, syncing with a flooded subbass to spine-chilling effect. For measure there's also the staggering 'Pivotal Moments In Life', a life-affirming piece of House music if we've ever heard one. Damn, the production values are just insanely high on each track. Calling this record anything less than essential would be a par.
