Picks of the Week
UPZ "United People of Zion" (SoWhat Records CD Promo)
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After having several highly successful single releases, UPZ (the project of producer and DJ Avi Elman) drop their self titled "United People of Zion" album which features some of their previous releases as well as unreleased tracks and forthcoming singles. The album continues where the singles left off, bringing you soulful dance grooves that fuse house with latin, afro, caribbean an urban sounds. Even some wonderful down tempo songs are included on this album. All of the track are beautifully crafted, showcasing the class and talent of Avi Elman. Watch out for the Abicah Soul remix of the massive "NoIZ" coming soon on Objektivity Records. |
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The 1iBear "You!" (Feelin' Music Records CD Promo)
Feelin' Music present the debut release for the nu-jazz/house combo The 1iBear titled "You!". This tune is absolutely incredible, featuring a passionate yet sexy vocal performance by singer Aurora Dawn and a wicked live orchestration that gives the track an organic rare-groove inspired vibe that creates an uplifting feeling. Beside the vocal and instrumental versions, there is a massive dub that will take dance floors by storm with its energetic vibe. Watch out for the breaks and build-ups which make this truly something special!
Greg Kozo featuring Esteban Garcia "Paris City" (Place Blanche Records CD Promo)
"Paris City" is a wonderful production by Frenchman Greg Kozo featuring a soulful'n'sexy vocal courtesy of Esteban Garcia. Greg Kozo's original take (coming in vocal and dub versions) is built around a thumpin' beat that is enriched with an electrofied bassline and catchy synths to create a relentless vibe. Filthy Cojones reworks the track into a beautiful laidback affair that is all about lovely melodies over a smooth backing groove, while Lanoiraude delivers a deeply rumblin' dub that feautures lush keys. Lastly there is Talion Law who takes the track into a dark, electro flavored broken direction.
Peven Everett "Sexy one" (Unified Records CD Promo)
"Sexy one" by Peven Everett is a mellow latinesque house groovier in its original version that features an acoustic guitar and shuffling percussion alongside a wicked vocal performance by Peven Everett. The remix courtesy of Alex Dimitri powers up the drums and bassline to give the track a soulful kickin' feeling that keeps the acoustic flavors alive.
Exclusive Preview: Harold Brandon "Happiness" (Abicah Soul Remix)(Consortium Muzik CD Promo)
What a wonderful remix Abicah Soul deliver on this beautiful song by Harlold Brandon, taking the laidback and deep vibe from the original to another level by further smoothing things down to an even more relaxed groove, with the marvelously crafted keys creating a fantastic melodic feeling. As we said with the review of the original version: inspiring dance music at its best.
Harness & Spencer "Tribal shit" (LoveSlap! Records CD Promo)
David Harness and Charles Spencer teaming up to give us a smooth yet resistless tribal house track. It's all about the laidback yet hypnotic tribal beat that is enriched with catchy synths and chords that altogether create an irresistible vibe. Two versions to choose from, with Charles Spencer providing a lovely alternate take to the original version.
From P60 featuring Virag "New way" / "Be what I wanna be" (Pesto Music Records CD Promo)
Massive two track release by From P60 on Pesto Music, featuring sensitive vocals by Virag. First we have "New way", a thumpin' deep house track featuring melodic chords that give the track a warm feeling. Nikola Gala's remix gives the track a more laidback feeling, while Jon Silva provides a deeply groovin' dub alongside a slightly tougher vocal version perfect for peak time play. For the bigger rooms, there is the electrofied 'Khaan Remix' included. "Be what I wanna be" is a fierce deep house track built around a deeply rumblin' groove, enriched with harmonic chords and sparse female vocals. Jon Silva gives the track a sharper, more electronic sounding on his rework. Also included is the 'Intro Mix', a reprise only using jazzy piano, harmonic chords and vocal samples.
A Night With Dick "The Dick Dickler EP" (Max Trax Records CD Promo)
Behind this project is none other than the legendary Kerri Chandler who produced and mixed all of the tracks. All of the four track start of with recorded dialogues before the music kicks in. First up is "The bar" featuring sexy spoken words by EQ (aka XTC Queen) over a classic Kerri Chandler styled deep house groove enriched with lovely chords. "The drive" is next, a relentless, heavily thumpin' deep house track featuring wicked keys. "The eye tattoo" is a kickin' affair built around sharp beats that get topped with catchy synths and sexy female vocals. Last but not least there is "The tapes", an amazing track built around a resistless stompin' beat, with catchy keys and sexy vocals helping to create an absolutely intense vibe.
Orlando Vaughan "Better Than Never" (Duffnote Records CD Promo)
The Richard Earnshaw produced "Better than never" first saw the light of the day on the "Duffnote WMC 2007 Sampler", and since then its full release has been eagerly awaited. With a stunning vocal performance by Orlando Vaughan, "Better than never" is a sure shot winner built around a fiercely stormin' groove that is enriched with catchy keys that create an irresistible feeling. Rasmus Faber provides a lovely dub re-edit, while K-Bana gives it an electro flavored re-rub that is the choice for the bigger rooms. The Dolls Combers smooth things down for are soulful interpretation on a laidback tip, with the slightly tougher 'Alternative Club Mix' completing the package.
Back to Fundamentals presents Julien Jabre + Davied Duriez "The stook" / "Wilderness" (SSOH Records CD Promo)
While the first release of the "Back to Fundamentals" project (DJ Gregory's "You are my friend") has just been released on vinyl and as digital download, the next release is already on the horizon, bringing two more slammin' tracks. Julien Jabre presents "The stook", a deeply rumblin', absolutely relentless track featuring wicked synths that create a hypnotic atmospheric vibe. "Wilderness" by David Duriez is a deep'n'rough track featuring crazed-out synths bringing back memories of the early days of acid house.