Picks of the Week  

If you followed some of the discussions on the Southport Weekender forums, you then should know that Kerri Chandler shares from time to time some of his unreleased treasures with the public. Here we have a few of these pearls that include unreleased dubs of Dee Dee Brave's "My My Lover" underground classic which was originally released back in 1990 on the legendary Movin' Records. "Can't Let Go" was originally planned to be released on the A Basement, A Red Light & A Feelin' Volume 2, but never made it onto that album. Finally, "Get Out My life" was Kerri's first idea of "Rain" before he scraped it. All of these tracks bring back the feeling of classy, timeless underground house music we used to dance to back in the days.

After the splendid "First Vibes EP" by Inner Sense, Nineties Records drop their next bomb, the "Where is Eddie? EP" by young Parisian producer Izmo. Three tracks can be found on this slammin' package, all of them bringing back memories of the underground New Jersey house sound with their deep grooves, wicked chords and classic percussion elements. Reminisce to the vibes, letting them take you back to a time when house was strictly underground. Deep house madness!!!

 

"Wave" is taken from the forthcoming cross-cultural Tokyo Calling 2 compilation and marks Japone Bretheren’s (aka vocalist Silva and producer Hiei) debut for the label. Sung in split versions both in English and Japanese, "Wave" is a smoothly groovin' production featuring a sweet pop-house vocal alongside warm melodic keys and sweet percussion. Yoku & Shigeki Tamura (for A Hundred Birds) fire things up on their take, taking the track to deeper grounds by giving it a more undergroundish feeling, letting you choose between vocal and dub versions.

 

DJ Rene Hewitt's "No You Didn't" is available as digital download for some weeks now, but like ourselves you might have overlooked this deeply stormin' dancefloor stomper that features a driving bassline alongside wicked keys that create catchy melodies. "No You Didn't" is one of those tracks that is simply perfect for late night or early morning play with its deep and soulful, yet relentless vibe.

 

A massive EP here by the likes of Ronnie Ron that offers a variety of slammin' moods destined to take dancefloors by storm. The title track "Kryptonite" is a deeply rumblin' track featuring spheric keys that create an irresistible vibe, with the 'Synth Mix' adding some cool… synths to it! "Hypnotautic" stands up to its title, creating a hypnotic vibe through the thumpin' groove and catchy snyth lines. The beats and heavy bass line of "Bassnautic" might be a test for your sound system. Together with the spaced-out keys they create a resistless feeling. "The Test" is even more massy, featuring wicked percussion breakdowns and remorseless keys. Lastly the percussion enriched "Man Up" relaxes things with a slightly smoother groove and a lovely jazzy piano.

 

Os Malandros is the project of Irfan Hussain and Prashanth Pallemoni responsible of this infectious summery samba house production based on a smooth tribal groove infused with Brazilian flavors and a rhythmic chant. The Realm (aka Toni Economides and Oli Lazarus) slightly strip things down on their dub while adding wicked synth lines to give it an irresistible feeling. Also included is a very useful bonus beats version.

 

Right in time for the Summer, Paradax Records come up with a slammin' sampler which is kicked off with Soulato's "Continuar" interpreted by Aaron Arce who gives it a sweet reworking featuring lovely keys and sexy vocals over a smooth percussion enriched backing groove. Jerry Flores takes on Miguel Plasencia & Jesse 'Outlaw's "Music To My Ears" and gives it a deeply groovin' funktified reworking that features wicked organ and keys. "Be Mine" by the Estranjeros (a former exclusive review here on Spirit of House) is a powerful track kicking off with a relentless percussion enriched beat and a hot piano riff before the keys, flute and sexy male vocals come in to create an intense feeling. Closing the package is "I need A Disco Freak" by Frankie Medina & J-Vibe, an irresistibly thumpin' track topped with catchy keys and male vocals, with the dub featuring additional electrofied synth lines.
 

"Stalk You" is the latest track lifted the from the Ananda Project’s just released Fire Flower LP with reworkings by DJ Kawasaki in a beautiful way. He uses drawn-out strings, classic piano and sweet percussion alongside singer Denise White's passionate vocals to create an uplifting yet soulful feeling. The instrumental strips down the vocals, letting the music do the talk in a blissful way. Italy's Doll Combers deliver a fierce interpretation twisting the track into an irresistible funky jam that is wonderfully orchestrated.

 

Midnite Touch "Can't Hold Back" features the unmistakable voice of Amrick Channa who provides a passionate vocal performance over a fiercely stormin' backing groove that creates a relentless vibe on the dancefloor, with the classic strings, jazzy horns, melodic chords and funky guitar adding classy disco/funk flavors to it. It's a shame that this wonderful track hasn't been released yet, so let’s hope it will be picked up soon.