Pick of the Week

Joaquin 'Joe' Claussell returns in a big way with "Un.Chained Rhythms Part 1 + 2", two limited 12" on his new Sacred Rhythm label, available only as expensive Japan import but it is worth the money you've got to pay for it. It's all about spiritual vibes here, featuring all live instrumentation, ranging from melodic chill out tracks over hypnotic drum grooves to the two standout tracks "Mafungo" and "Maringa". "Mafungo" is an incredible percussion driven track featuring an outstanding saxophone with male chants, while "Maringa" features a wonderful jazzy piano line over a deeply stormin', smooth percussive groove.

The Others

Japan's late nite guru Calm presents a spiritual jazz house piece in the form of "Shining Of Life" that combines shuffling beats, a groovy bassline together with a fantastic piano line and harmonic keys for a deep house journey. The 'New Mix' features an uplifting vocal while the 'Flutemental Remix' brings in a lovely flute, taking the song even deeper.

New Jersey based producer Jihad Muhammad is responsible of the first release on the brand new Camio label. "The Dawn" is a percussive
instrumental featuring jazzy keys by Vincent Jeffries that give it a laidback feeling. NJ Project give it a slightly tougher edge with an extra jazzy flute added, while rising star Kenny Carvajal who gives it a sublime reworking that is keeping the jazzy vibe alive. He also provides an alternate version that replaces the piano with a saxophone.
The second release of the Camio label will be "Everything" by Canadian poet and musician Dwayne Morgan who provides a spoken word performance that is added with additional vocals by Lorraine Reid and Peter Miller. Kenny Carvajal delivers sublime mixes that give the song an emotional feeling true to the depth created by the wonderful vocals that are layed over a smooth groove featuring a lovely guitar, harmonic keys and wicked organ solo.

The uplifting "I'm So Glad" by Fuzion that features former Blaze member Chris Herbert on vocals has been given the remix treatment by Moise 'Big Moses' Laporte who provides the song with a classic garage feeling full of soulful keys over a mellow bumpin' groove.

Dennis Ferrer teams up with the legendary Kenny Bobien for the uplifting "Grateful" that features a gospel-ish vocal performance, melodic keys and and an organ over a thumpin' backing groove that features a deeply rumblin' bassline. Soul drenched house at its best.

Kenshyro made his presence to the dance music community last year with "Remember The Summer" which he follows up now with "Sky City", a soulful and fierce funky stomper in its original form featuring soaring female vocals. Marquito, a talent to watch closely in the future, takes the song into classic territory with warm melodic keys and strings placed over a storming backing track. MoD deliver a dub version perfect for the dancefloor with its irresistible groove that is topped with wicked keys.

Abicah Soul Records have another beauty in their hands by the likes of "Melodic Tree" by the Monkey Nuts. Their original version is a mellow, percussion driven affair featuring a jazzy piano, lovely flute and spaced out keys that create a laidback feeling. Justin Michael gives it a deeper late nite feeeling, based on deeply stormin' beats and moody keys, featuring Ian Fisher who adds a great guitar to it.

While last year’s "Night Life" has been picked up by Farplane
Records for a release soon including a new Rasmus Faber remix,
Feet return on their own label with the hot three tracker "Feet Your Soul Vol. 1". "I'll Think Of You" is full of funky flavors, bringing the sound of the 70's disco-funk back to the dancefloors, featuring soulful vocals by Sophie Delila. She is also the featured vocalist on "Something Going On", an uplifting track with a lively jazz-funky edge, while "Excesso" has a Latinesque vibe to it by keeping it funky at the same time, featuring sexy vocals by Yaité.

Michael Fossati (Spirit of House) spiritofhouse.com