For those of you 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

MARLON D Love Is Key (Jellybean/LPCD Promo)

Marlon D has been around in the New York club scene for a long time, starting as a promoter and DJ before stepping into production. Today, he is running both his own Underground Collective nights and label of the name, and he is responsible for some classics of recent years: "Keys Of Life" and "Love Will Save The Day" by Jaque, "I Appreciate" by Maxine Inniss and "The UC anthem". The recently released "Affection", a taster for the album, got radio airplay and reviews worldwide and has entered several global dance charts.

Now, time has come for Marlon to release his debut album on Jellybean Records, run by the legendary John 'Jellybean' Benitez. Featuring some of the hottest singers in the house community today - Stephanie Renne, Caroline Peppers and J.R. Morrison - this album will further strengthen Marlon D's reputation for being a versatile producer of soulful house music. It includes instrumental tracks as well as vocal productions featuring the sweet and soulful voices of aforementioned artists, all of them including great keys and grooves destined to rock the dancefloors.

Love Is Key is a brilliant varied debut album not to be missed that will be released both on CD and vinyl. Also watch out for the 83 West remix of "Affection" to be released soon on 12".

VARIOUS "Collections Of Moods EP" (Real Tone)

The French based Real Tone imprint delivers a hot four tracker. Franck Roger teams up with Alix Alvarez for two tracks. "Dub H" is dub house on a funky tip, spreading a moody feeling. "The Mood" is on a deep vibe, featuring sweet percussion and spheric keys together with a spoken word vocal. Label newmcomer Amnaye is behind the other two tracks featuring "Anzar" on a deeply stormin' tip, coming with acidic tones and spacey keys, meanwhile while "Afa" takes it even deeper into late nite territory.

KERRI CHANDLER "The Dark One, The Moon & The Candle Maker" (Deeply Rooted House)

After the success of "Back To The Raw", Kerri Chandler returns with another sure shot winner on Deeply Rooted House. This EP features three tracks including the twelve minutes journey "Six Pianos" that is on a Detroit vibe, featuring a deep and moody groove that is topped with wicked keys. "Light To The World" sees Kerri unleash more old school house grooves on a deep vibe, while "Mental Moonlight Fiesta" has a live latin feel to it, featuring lots of percussion and a lovely guitar.

QUENTIN HARRIS featuring CORDELL McCLARY "Got 2 Love" (SpaceKat)

After their successful collaboration on "Travelling", Quentin Harris and Cordell McClary team up once more to present the follow up "Got 2 Love" which is a soulful affair with a smoothly bumpin' groove, added with warm melodic keys and a sweet vocal performance. On the dub version, Harris goes for his signature keys, underlined by a straighter beats, giving the track a tougher edge.

REGGIE WATTS "So Beautiful" (Sound Consortium)

The latest release on Soul Consortium is Reggie Watts' "So Beautiful", coming your way in a nice selection of mixes. Brent Laurence is responsible for both the original and reprise mixes, coming on a smooth and soulful tip featuring a deep bassline and lovely guitar. Harley & Muscle, the dons of deep house from Italy, slow it down a bit and use laminar keys and a moody groove to turn it into a deep house vibe. Olivier Desmet concludes the package with his reworking, comint on a west cost vibe with spacey, almost techy keys.

TEDDY DOUGLAS "The Path" (Basement Boys/CD Promo)

If you remember "Bombelaya" from the late summer of 2003, you know what to expect from this Teddy Douglas' new production. You won't be dissapointed as this track comes with a driving tribal rhythm based on stormin' beats that is topped with cosmic keys giving the track an absolute irresistible feeling. The alternate 'Sunset Mix' starts off just with the cosmic keys before the tribal rhythm kicks in afer around three minutes, taking you to a journey into late nite sounds.

CRICCO CASTELLI "La Casa Del Jazz" (SoulFuric Deep/CD Promo)

The original version, as featured on the "SoulFuric Miami 2005 Sampler", is destined for either the lounge or the dancefloor with its combination of a fierce groove with a jazzy rhodes and eclectic horns - jazz-house the way it can rock even the biggest dancefloors. New on the package is the 'KTA Mix' that comes with a tougher groove by keeping the musicial integrity intact, creating an even more fierce groove. A beats version is also included.
 

KENNY BOBIEN "Right Away" (Spiritually Sound)

Spiritually Sound Records present a fantastic production featuring one of the most outstanding voices in dance music history. On "Right Away", Kenny Bobien sounds as great as ever, delivering an emotional performance on this gospelish production that features a chunky guitar riff layered over smooth chords and a thumpin' backing groove. The dub is stripped down the track to the guitar and ad-libs from Kenny, creating an irresistible vibe.

MARGUS PETERSON presents SOULFUL SWEETS Pt. 1 "Look Ahead" (Sweets Records/CD Promo)

Estonia, who brought us producer and DJ Dave Storm (who had several successful releases on Ceremony, Refunkt and Subliminal Soul), is a place that continues to build its own dance music scene with Margus Peterson being the latest discovery. His first production "Look Ahead" is a cover version of the Danny Tenaglia classic from 1995. The main version is a powerful affair with a smoothly stompin' groove topped with a sweet female vocal and jazzy keys, while the 'String Dub' is on a groovier tip with tribalish beats and extra keys, and the saxohpone injected 'Sax Dub' is pumping things up.