quality films, cutting edge music, good books, and the odd related t-shirt - with a bit of digital hardware thrown in for good measure. Please check the sidebar to your left for a comprehensive list of options, and see the boxed items below for brief write ups on what's new.
Anyone going to Miami? An old pal of ours has just helped build a $6m state of the art club complete with open air roof terrace main floor, Funktion 1 sound systems throughout three rooms, waterfalls... etc. So we thought it only right we take over some of the best DJs and producers Europe has to offer to christen Nocturnal in style.
No dull house antics just cos it's Miami though, we've got Tiefschwarz and Damian Lazarus laying down the dirty electro, Ulrich Schnauss plying his spacey sound beneath the stars, Tom Middleton weaving his eclectic magic, The MFA and James Holden getting deep and abstract, Desyn Masiello and Peace Division rocking the gaff as always... Tickets only £12.50 throughout February
Franky Boissy feat. Roland Clark - Black Music (incl. Miguel Migs and Marlon D Remixes) Chez
Migs, Roland Clark, Chez - three names you want to see on a deep house record, and the whole is still greater than the sum of the parts here, as Migs dirties up his big-ass drums for added boompty, smoothes deep chords and space jazz keys across them, before Roland Clark talks 'Black Music' over the top. Nice Marlon D mix on the other side too.
Joeski feat. Mr Reo - Find A Way Maya
The 'Full Vocal' mix of Joeski's latest Maya offering is a solid enough vocal houser, but it's the dub that makes the most noise here, as the song is looped up, chopped up and bounced off a big fat n' bumpin' drum track, walking bassline and subtley hypnotic keys for a jack track with soul, style and distinction. House music all the way...
Annie - Heartbeat (incl. Alan Braxe/ Royksopp Remixes) 679
Star waiting to happen Annie gets hooked up with Alan Braxe and Royksopp, and it's the Frenchman who comes out on top, as he rattles out a standard Braxe backing - ie: fat, funky disco bassline, crisp beats and cool chords - and then drops Annie artfully over the top for a fun-filled 'floor mover sure to help push the easy-on-the-eye chanteuse ever closer to mainstream acceptance. Royksopp's mix is kinda breaksy, and going over our heads at the moment.
Freerange Records Colour Series: Blue 02 (Sampler) Freerange
Freerange Records have managed to avoid jumping onto passing electro bandwagons over the last year, instead preferring to subtly incorporate elements into their trademark deep, warm house sound. This is a four track sampler from the label's latest comp, so envelop yourself in Kirk Degiorgio's gorgeous electronic workout 'Cosmic Peasant', or check the sleek latinism of Jimpster's mix of Random Factor, and the more jazzy but equally classy 'Fresh Air' from Joshua Marquez. Quality spread, value for money, all good.
Diefenbach - Re-Make Your Mind EP (incl. Lindstrom/ Vector Lovers/ Hot Chip/ Nick Raber Remix) We Love You
A welcome return to leftfield pastures for Wall of Sound, as Norwegian kooksters Diefenbach get worked over by a host of happening luminaries. Cosmic disco Scando bod Lindstrom goes wobbly pop, Vector Lovers inject some shiny electro fuel, Hot Chip get breaksy and hectic, but it's the Nick Faber mix tucked away on B2 that's rattling our cages with its Peter Hook / Interpol style bassline, looped up vocal and guitar chords gelling together for an enticing floaty indie-funker.
Lascivious - She's Here (incl. Brennan Green Remix) Wave
The original here is a beautiful little deep song from NY legend Pal Joey, but whilst his mix suffers slightly from clunky drums, the Brennan Green mix on the A side, and the two Triangle mixes on the flip, are a collective exercise in deep house goodness, with hints of disco, subtle melodies, the odd pulsing bleep, and lots of space.
Nathan Fake - Dinamo / Undoing The Laces / Coheed Traum
The Fake temporarily takes leave of the Border Community from whence he first came, and produces a smart three tracker for the German Traum label. 'Dinamo' is a cool, bumping, wibbly techer, 'Undoing the Laces' a slamming acid workout, and 'Coheed' a trippy clicker with some geezer (Fake?) intoning enigmatically over the top. All good.
All Good Funk Alliance - What It Is EP Hi phen
The All Good Funk Alliance deliver big time here, 'cos the lead track 'More People' drips in proper, old school funk sensibility whilst sounding v. future, combining a squelched out bassline Bootsy Collins would be proud of with brass stabs straight outta the JBs' songbook, topped off with fat shuffly, beats and bright production. Three other tracks on the EP - no fillers.
N&W - Randomizer/ Analog Acid Artofdisco
And so the goodness continues to flow from Artofdisco, this time with a two-headed assault from the imaginitively named 'N&W'. 'Randomiser' on the A is a strong electro-acid number, but flipside 'Analogue Acid' is soooo the one as it jerks and jacks in superb tweaked out fashion, sounding totally old school and indeed, analogue, but big and modern and comprehensively 'floor-friendly at the same time.
Marc Romboy vs Blake Baxter - Freakin' (incl. Robert Babicz Remix) Systematic
As we haven't actually had a Jesper/ John Dahlback acid record in this week, the original mix of this Marc Romboy / Blake Baxter collaboration fills a gap with it phunked out 303 groove and crisp beats. But it's the Robert Babicz mix on the flip that ensures that this release stands up there with the previous five on this new and most excellent German label, as its combination of jacking rhythms, hypnotic riffs and Blake Baxter spoken vocals just ain't like everything else that's around at the moment. Classy.
Crosstown Rebels: Rebel Futurism Session 2 Crosstown Rebels
Damian Lazarus's Crosstown Rebels label wastes no time in following up 'Rebel Futurism 1', and the quality quotient remains high on these two vinyl samplers, with the more full on electro assault of the first one now taking a slight back seat to funkier, housier, more Italo flavours courtesy of Oscar Fullone, Rob Mello, Kiki & Silversurfer and John Spring respectively. Not a filler in sight.
Magick Kuts - Get Down/ Fantasy Magick Kuts
We've no idea who the artist is here, or when it was made (guessing early eighties), but we can assure you that this edit is a 100% genuine, 24 carat disco funk BOMB, with a 'Get On Down' vocal, some Prelude style synths, and a bass-led groove you could live your life by.
GU Afterhours 2 (Vinyl Packs) GU Music
Despite the slightly off-putting, been-out-a-bit-toooo-long-now face on the cover, Global Underground's second 'Afterhours' compilation is nothing to be scared of. Quite the opposite in fact, as spread over two discs you get a varied, smoked out collection of tracks ranging from the ethereal midtempo mindtrip of Petter's Dub of Trafik's 'Echoes' to the boundary-crossing 'deep rave' of Rockers Hi-Fi's 'Push Push' to the trippiest minimal click house of Sutekh's remix of Murcof and much more late-night tomfoolery besides.
Sufjan Stevens - Greetings From Michigan Rough Trade
Sufjan Stevens is a bearded, recorder-playing hippie from Michigan, US, who plays in (I kid you not) "an absurdist, avant-garde Christian-folk troupe", but we forgive him everything, 'cos maybe you have to be all those things to create music so organic yet as downright otherworldly as this. There's a sense of spirituality that pervades the album, but nothing so overt as to break the spell and remind us that Mr Stevens shares his religion with his compatriots Bush and the dark legions of Middle America, so we're left with an intimate collection of expansive and gently uplifting songs that transcend mere ideological concerns.
Deep Space NYC Vol. 1 - Compiled and Mixed by François K Wave
While some of his fellow New York old school buddies slip quietly away to embrace living legend status, François Kevorkian moves ever forward, continuing a search for what he perceives as the cutting edge of dance music that began back in the late seventies. At the moment that search has seen him immersed in dub, and not just of the reggae variety. His Monday night NY session 'Deep Space' has gained iconic status as FK explores every corner and possibility that the 'space' in dub allows. A one CD set will probably never truly capture the current 'FK live in NY' experience, but with everyone from reggae legends U Roy and the Skatalites to Ferrer and Syndenham, Chicken Lips and Jeff Mills flexing their delay muscles here, this is an intoxicating taste ideal for home consumption.
Willy Mason - Where The Humans Eat Team Love
Twenty year old Cape Cod folkster Willy Mason has been drawing appreciative audiences to pub gigs all over the UK over the last three weeks thanks largely to his deeply catchy polemic 'Oxygen' and a growing buzz surrounding this, his debut LP. Whether he's the 'new Dylan', as some are hailing him, or not, this is smart, highly listenable country-tinged folk, with far more heart and soul than is reasonable to expect from a singer songwriter of Mason's years.
Kitsune X - (incl. mixes and tracks by Tiefschwarz/ Joakim/ Volga Select/ Hot Chip and more) Kitsune
Pure value for money here, with the very cool Parisian label Kitsune rolling out a 2 x 12" compilation, apparently for no other reason than to throw together some of Europes most on it producers, and provide us with twelve new tracks for a tenner. Highlights include contributions from Tiefschwarz, Trevor Jackson, Manhead, Joakim, Ivan Smagghe, Captain Comatose. It is, as they say, all good.
Various Artists - Full Body Workout Get Physical
More value for money madness from our generous European cousins, this time it's those Get Physical chaps with 8 tracks of quality unreleased material across 2 x 12's. Disc 1 rocks the acid house vibe more than you'd expect from GP, whilst disc 2 sees a couple of neat electro housers, and a contribution from 2020's Ralph Lawson.
Super Size Me
Filmmaker Morgan Spurlock's idea of eating only Mcdonalds for a month, in supersize form when offered, was a beauty, and the simple execution of it was so effective that it not only led directly to Mcdonalds dropping their automatic 'supersize' offer, but has also arguably shifted the worldwide movement against the evil empire onto a more mainstream footing. Could the Golden Arches be about to crumble? Who knows, but this is a highly watchable docu-movie, enjoy it with a Big Mac and fries for maximum interactive enjoyment.
Motorcycle Diaries
Che Guevara was always the sexiest of modern revolutionary icons, and this dramatised version of his early, post-student travels through Central and South America on a low slung Norton 500 with a buddy in tow, only serves to strengthen the popular image of him. But we also get a beautifully shot and sympathetically paced movie with a fine cast, English subtitles, and lovingly evoked atmosphere of time and portent.
We're pleased to now be one of the select band of stockists carrying the incomparably good UDG DJ gear - namely lots of very cool looking, light and durable record bags, from butch camouflage numbers, to the slightly camp but extremely practical trolley bag, and all points in between.
Perfect Christmas present material - for yourself probably - and courier delivery only, so available before the 25th.
The Northern Soul Top 500 - Special Edition
Northern Soul can seem a bit impenetrable to all but the diehards that keep the fires burning, but never fear, here is the industry bible compiled by the legendary Kev Roberts, a world renowned 'top 500' magnum opus, with full biogs and current values for those evasive 45s, with an additional new millennium top 100 exclusive to this latest edition.
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