TRIED & TESTED #0002
This has been quite a while, but Stalwart head Olivier Velay is now firmly back on board with the 2nd installment of his Tried & Tested section. Check dis out!
KIM ENGLISH - ‘Missing You’ - Richard Earnshaw & A&G Project Remixes (Litmus Recordings 007) distributed by Unique (uniquedist.co.uk)
Really good idea to leave this classic piece of house music in the hands of Mr Earnshaw ! The result is above expectations, with a so soulful and sexy yet bouncing remix... The instrumental works as well on a more hypnotic tip. A&G Project are doing a nice job too, making the package consistent for soulful djs. Essential indeed !
MICHAEL WATFORD - ‘So Into You’ - Bobby D’ambrosio & Claudio D Remixes (Osio Records)
Another soulful classic getting the relifting treatment and here again, the remixers are hitting it right. Bobby D’Ambrosio delivers 3 mixes : B.D’s Revisited Mix is a classic upliting garage joint that fits nicely with Michael Watford vocals, making this very soulful. D’s Gospel Reprise is a more straight-up energetic gospelish joint, where the singer really leads the track, when D’s Alt Mix is a much cooler affair more than decent to warm things up. Topping the whole thing up is the massive Claudio D’s Dub, that uses only bits of the lead vocals in its bouncing and hypnotic kicks for a pure dancefloor mayhem… A great release.
MU-SOUL - ‘All I Have’ (Whatzat Recordings) distributed by Topplers (topplers.com)
The Parisian House Music scene is really taking off in terms of inspired producers right now, with people like Fudge, Yass, Rork, but also guys like Nadir Simon (Jus’ Dope), Alex & Reverendp, Greg Kozo… This scene is quietly but surely taking the house world by storm ! This house version of a Musiq Soulchild slow-cut, made by some of the above mentioned talents, is soooo soulful and catchy it gives you the goosebump !!! The NY influences are clearly there, it actually has NY tagged all over it ! A very classy and musical reinterpreation of the amazing nu-soul singer, could be a classic in the making... 3 mixes to choose from : Original Mix, Rk Dub Edit and Club Reedit.
GREG KOZO featuring YUANIST WOODS - ‘What & Where’ - Fudge & Greg Kozo Mixes – Place Blanche Records distributed by Topplers (www.topplers.com)
Greg Kozo is defintely a producer to watch and follow closely, as his Place Blanche imprint is gaining respect and focus worldwide by people like Brian Tappert (Soulfuric), Simon Dunmore (Defected), Claude Monnet (Penso Postivo) or yours truly. His latest release, ‘What & Where’, has taken the soulful community by storm during WMC 2006, mostly due to its amazing Fudge remix. This mix hasn’t left my box for 3 months and will stay there for a while !! Fudge has amplified the essence of the original song to make it a funky dancefloor killer, that to me has a cross over potential. 3 other mixes from Mr Kozo, more ‘laidback’, are available: Original mix, Club Dub and Dub Mix, the latest being my fave of these 3 with its fat bassline and nice flute solo. Make sure to check out this quality release !
DJ ROCCO – ‘Something For The Floor’ (Map Dance) distributed by Unique (uniquedist.co.uk)
Really nice to see Map Dance releasing this joint, a bit more underground to what I was used to hear on this Swiss label. DJ Rocco (another French bloke !) is defintely establishing himself as one the most talented up & coming producers right now, on a more electronic tip. This EP is right in the vein of what the market is looking for on quality underground dance music with an old skool, hypnotic & progressive flavor. Loving the original mix for its slow, sexy, dark and hypnotic build up, a killer joint if played with a big system. The bonus beat will also be very useful. I am not so keen on the dub, a bit too afterhours for me. Overall, a nice, solid, quality release, with a very strong original mix that justifies the buying.
HARDSOUL & RON CARROLL - “My Life” (Hardsoul Pressings) distributed by Unique (uniquedist.co.uk)
New collaboration between Holland's hot property Hardsoul and the unmissable Ron Carroll, following the steps of their 2004 soulful anthem "Back Together". The Original Classic Vocal, as the mix name states, is very very classical indeed. Tight production, nice strings, melancolic pianos and Ron's vocal performance defnitely recycle the "Back Together" formula. But the surprise is not there anymore. The mix that works the most for me is the Ron Carroll's BMC 90's mix, more pumping, less melodic and very efficient. Would have been nice to get a dub version of this mix as the piano riff works well on its own. Finally, Knee Deep deliver an electro-ish dub that will work for the big clubs. All on all, a good package of mixes for a not very original song
GROOVE JUNKIES – ‘Devotion Pt.2’ (MoreHouse Records)
Well, what a release guys !! All the mixes are pure quality, and offer a wide range of plays. Let’s start off with the Timmy Vegas Raw Mix, with it’s old school flavor, obsessive spoken lyrics, raw bassline and massive break. A complete storm for the harder sets, believe me ! The Raw Dub is very similar to the Raw Mix, without the spoken words. Also very efficient is the Hands Up DJ Tool, with pumping kickdrums and the singer inviting the punters to ‘put their hands up’. Very useful for the pumping yet soulful sets is the GJ hookstrumental, with a nice trumpet solo ‘a la Miles Davis’.
SUMO – ‘The Danceband EP’ (Heya Hifi) distributed by Topplers (topplers.com)
Sweden, with electronic music, has been on the map for while now, with the emergence more than 10 years ago of techy producers like Cari Lekebush or Adam Beyer, and more recently with the tech-house mafia composed of Axwell, Sebastian Ingrosso, Eric Prydz and Steve Angello. The soulful side of house has also to count with this great Swedish production pair known as SUMO. After many releases on Seasons Recordings, they have created their own imprint about 2 years ago, HEYA HIFI on which they are releasing their debut LP The Danceband. This EP, the third single from the album, pushes up a bit further the boundaries of dance music, mostly because of the creativity in the process of recording the tracks. As an example, ‘Unlove Me’ is a broken beat house cut that includes some slammin’ door elements in the drum! The amazing soul vocal performance of singer Aaron Phiri makes this very fresh and original, in the mass of so-similar unoriginal releases available on the house market. The Danceband, the eponymous title of the album, is also a nice hip house cut, with 4/4 classic beats, a slightly electro bassline, and old school strings. A great insight from the album.
FULL INTENTION – ‘Soul Power’ - Kurd Maverick Remixes (Peppermint Jam) distributed by Peppermint Jam (peppermintjam.com)
Kurd Maverick is the man behind this new Peppermint Jam record. After huge club hits like the D.O.N.S. classic remake "Pump Up The Jam" last year and "Love Sensation" in 2006, he took Full Intentions' evergreen "Soul Power" with the magic voice of Thea Austin and put it into a totally fresh vibe with funky guitars, deep basslines and hypnotic melodies! The package comes classic with a Vocal mix and a Dub. Both mixes are useful depending on the venue, the crowd and / or the time of the night.
Many thanks to all the labels, distributors and producers for the overwhelming response to this section!
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