Many of you are
those interested in extensive reviews. Long time IDMW.com partner/friend,
Zurich-based Spiritofhouse.com head Michael Fossati comes
along with his weekly selection of ultimate goodies. Gruezi Mein Herr !
The pieces of
music thereafter are taken from the weekly Fresh Grooves mix
series as conceived by Michael Fossati.
All your promos
to be sent to :
Michael Fossati
P.O. Box 9403 – CH 8036 ZÜRICH (SCHWEIZ)
Contact :
michael.fossati@spiritofhouse.com
Picks of
the Week
TANJA DANKNER
"Will I Ever" - Jamie Lewis Remix (Purple Music/CD Promo)
This track was
released back in 2000 and is originally produced by Stefan Raab, a very
successfull German TV showmaster. Jamie Lewis licensed the track for his
label and gives it a lovely reworking that will rock the dancefloors with its
smoothly stompin' beat, funky bassline, wicked guitar riff and jazzy piano that
harmonise perfectly with the sweet vocals by Tanja Dankner. The dub is
all about the funky elements, giving the guitar riff lots of place to grow.
Mr. V "Jus
Dance" (Vega Records)
"Jus Dance"
features spoken words over a bumpin' four-to-the-floor groove with funky beats,
topped with simple yet effective keys and a jazzy rhodes solo in the SOLE
Channel Mix. The Cosmic Ritual Dub by Alix Alvarez gets more
minimnal with a touch of raggae, featuring less of the vocals and a more urgent
bassline, spreading a hypnotic feeling.
QUEEN LATIFAH "Hard Times" (Airex
Groove Quickmix)(CD-R)
A cut taken from
the Dana Owens Album long player where rap/hip-hop artist Queen
Latifah (Dana Owens is her birth name) interprets jazz classics and
R&B favorites. It has been given a reworking for the dancefloor by Eric
Wikman of Deepswing that keeps the jazz and orchestral vibes of the
original alive, with a wicked groove and clever effects added to make it a
feel-good dancefloor stomper.
FIRST CHOICE
"Smarty Pants" (Philly Soul/CD Promo)
"Smarty Pants"
dates back to 1973 and has been looked after by RedSoul aka Dave
Wareing. For the lovers of classic Pphilly-disco, there is a lovely re-edit
featuring the full vocals. The Groove Mix takes the song directly to the
dancefloors with a fierce and driving groove added unerneath the original
instrumentation, with just the chorus of the vocals used. There is also an
instrumental take of this version included. Finally there is the Philly
Thumper which combines the classic vibes with a thumpin' groove, added
effects and a spoken word message.
JUKE JOINT &
SHAWN BENSON "Whisper" (Look-At-You/CD Promo)
Juke Joint
are DJ Dealer and DJ Sense who team up with singer Shawn Benson
who already sang on the previous Look-At-You hits releases "Chains" and
"Affection". They present "Whisper", a production that will take you back to the
80's with its raw Chicago styled beats, keyboards and an arrangement reminiscent
of those early days of house music. While the vocal will have you singing along,
the dub builds the groove around a percolating organ and the funky bassline.
STACEY
MALLORY "What Is Housemusic..." (CD-R)
New Jersey based
producer Stacey Mallory sees his production "Love Power" released on
Bumpin' City Records this week with "Afrikan Soul" coming soon on Iwanai Music
Records, but he did not sleep in the meantime and produced this tune as well, a
simple and deep track driven by a percussion loaded tribalistic groove added
with with wicked keys and a spoken word message on the Main Mix while the
Soulful Mix smoothes things down with a jazzy organ ride. A remix by
DJ Pope is in the works as you read these lines.
DJ SPEN
featuring VONITA WHITE My Devotion (Devotion)
Vonita White
emerges from the legendary Jasper Street Company outfit and is the
featured vocalist on this latest DJ Spen production. "My Devotion" is
spreading an uplifting feeling through the passionate vocal over the funky and
vibrating bassline, that is added with drums and bells reminiscent of the old
skool era, melodic keys and a jazzy piano line coming in towards the end of the
song.
DEBORAH BOND
"This Is Me" / JULIUS PAPP faturing D'LAYNA "Dame Mas - The NeoDisco Remixes
(NeoDisco Records)
NeoDisco present
a hot double-tracker here. "This Is Me" by Deborah Bond is produced by
Aaron Evans and is remixed by Julius Papp who delivers a deep and
sultry number utilizing the smooth and sexy vocal performance together with deep
chords and a buttery flute. "Dame Mas" has been previously released and gets a
new life with new mixes by Julius Papp himself, taken the track deep with
fat drums, shimery chords and D'Layna's spoken words on top.
SEMINAL
GROOVES "Keep Me Up" (deVICE Records/CD Promo)
deVICE Records are back for 2005 with "Keep Me Up" by Seminal Grooves, an
uplifting funky gem. The vocal version features a perky rhodes riff together
with chunky drums and a deep bassline as base for the sultry vocals and jazzy
saxophone solo. The Bass Funk Dub toughens things up while using just
snippets from the vocals, giving it a more groove based feel. The Tribal
Distraction Dub adds additional percussive elements, making it perfect for
peak hour play. Also included is a Reprise which features a lovely intro.
SEAWIND
PROJECT featuring EMILY McEWAN "Free (Part 2)" (Knee Deep USA/CD Promo)
Part two
features slamming mixes by Knee Deep that will rock any dancefloor with
their storming groove, old school piano hook, tight drums, breakdowns and the
uplifting vocal by Emily McEwan. The dub features extra spoken vocal
parts, also available as an acapella that is included on this release. Rasmus
Faber has increased the latin vibe by adding some brazilian drums in his
Latin Journey Mix.
MOD presents
FAMILY JAM "Cocktail Chant" (Purple Music Tracks/CD Promo)
Swiss producer
and DJ Juan Sunshine presents this lovely track titled "Cocktail Chant".
With its bouncey and laidback groove, coupled with a funky bassline and both
warm melodic and jazzy keys, this is perfect for afterhours play. The dub heats
things up with tougher beats and catchy keys, creating a more irresistible vibe.
PEPE LINK
featuring MALCOLM 'MOLLY' DUNCAN "Kalakuta" (MoreHouse Records/CD Promo)
"Kalakuta" is
Pepe Link's first project for MoreHouse Records. He presents a tribute to
the legendary african sax player Fela Kuti that features Malcolm
'Molly' Ducan (from the legendary Average White Band funk outfit) on
saxophone. "Kalakuta" is a driving Afro-house production full of percussion and
African chants that together with the sax solo creates an irresistible vibe. On
the dub, Pepe Link teams up with Kiko Navarro as Ma-Yorkins.
They strip off the vocals, replace the Afro-styled beats with straight 4/4 beats
and add extra keys and a funky guitar riff.