Picks of the Week
Soularis "Back together" (SunSoaked Records CD Promo)
The next release on SunSoaked will be a cover of the timeless Donny Hathaway & Roberta Flack classic "Back together". Produced by Soularis and with vocals supplied by Pete Simpson and Mandy Edge, it stays true to the timeless original, paying it the respect it deserves. The groovy 'SunSoaked Mix' smoothes things down, spreading an uplifting feeling through the passionate vocals and organic instrumentation. The 'SunSoaked Instrumental' strips back the vocals, letting the rhodes to the talking. DJ Meme and MoD team up, powering things up on their take and adding additional funky ingredients that make it a peaktime favorite.
More Reviews
Exclusive Review: Alan Smithee aka 'In BlueBlackness' present Natalie Cole "Wish you" (CD-R)
"I wish you love" by Natalie Cole gets a sultry and respectful house makeover by Alan Smithee under his In BlueBlackness moniker that keeps the magic of Natalie Cole's incomparable voice and the wonderful jazz instrumentation alive. With a smooth and laidback groove, this reworking has got a timeless feeling to it.
Chris Rob "Ghetto people" (TeaParty Music Records 12")
Ian Friday teams up with Chris Rob for the wonderful "Ghetto people" that is all about the beautifully crafted instrumentation and passionate vocals by Chris Rob. Deeply stormin' beats enriched with sweet percussion, great keys and classic strings accompany Chris Rob's voice perfectly, creating an uplifting vibe. The flipside features the 'Original Mix' of the classic "Everything" by Ian Friday featuring Erro.
Exclusive Review: Anthony Hamilton "Sailin' away" (J & J's SoulTempo Mix)(CD-R)
"Sailin' away" is taken from Anthony Hamilton's current longplayer "Southen Comfort". In its original form, it is a beautiful soul production that is all about Anthony Hamilton's unmistakable voice. J & J aka DJ Jaycee and Jere McAllister transform it into a deeply groovin' house track with wicked keys and thumpin' beats that beautifully preserves the flavors of the original.
Exclusive Review: Beyonce "Summertime" (Alex Dimitri's South Soul Re-Touch)(CD-R)
Alex Dimitri adds his name to the illustrious list of producers of reworking r&b and soul songs into soulful house tracks. He reworked songs from Ne Yo, John Legend, Angie Stone, Nivea and Beyonce's "Summertime" which we've chosen for a review. "Summertime" gets an uplifting interpretation, with a deeply thumpin' groove leading the way for the summery instrumentation and uplifting vocals.
Exclusive Review: Gerald Levert "Wanna get up with you" (Joe Flame Edit)(CD-R)
Gerald Levert sadly passed away in November 2006, with the album "In my songs" (released at the beginning of this year) being his final farewell to the world. "Wanna get up with you" from that album is an uptempo soul song taken to the dancefloor by Joe Flame who uses a smoothly thumpin' funktified backing groove as base for the original music and sensitive vocals.
Keith Thompson "Borders don't matter" (Part One)(Waking Monster Records CD Promo)
Right in time for summer, Keith Thompson presents the uplifting "Border's don't matter" to be released in two parts. Ralf GUM delivers a summery interpretation that keeps on groovin' from the beginning to the end and features great horns and lovely guitars, while Phil Hooton comes up with a marvellous remix that is wonderfully instrumentated, letting the inspirational vocals harmonise perfectly with the irresistible piano, wicked organ, melodic chords and horns that are arranged beautifully over a deeply stormin' groove.
UPZ featuring Regina "Moment wuth U" (Bubble Soul Records CD Promo)
Shortly after "Ti-moune", Bubble Soul present the next brom from UPZ: "Moment with U" which features a sexy, r&b inspired female vocal by Regina over a smoothly stompin' groove that is enriched with melodic keys and a funky rumblin' bassline. Kiko Navarro provides the remix, powering things up and adding additional jazz-funky instrumentation.
DJ Reeplee featuring Kelly Moore "Reach" (Souvent Records CD Promo)
DJ Reeplee's latest production is titled "Reach" and features New York based singer Kelly Moore on vocals. "Reach" is a beautiful deep house track built around smoothly stompin' beats that are enriched with sweet percussion, lovely guitar, melodic keys and a soulful vocal by Kelly Moore. Amit Shoham provides the remix, delivering a dubby version that takes it to deeper grounds with added funky ingredients and wicked chords.
Barrio Latino "Rio de Janeiro" (Gotta Keep Faith Records CD Promo)
With "Rio de Janeiro" by Barrio Latino (a successful latin band founded in the 90's), Gotta Keep Faith present a 'promo only' release (to be available on Traxsource soon) that might stay that way (no decision made yet on a proper release). Spiritual Blessings take on "Rio de Janeiro" and turn it into a relentless latin flavored deep house track with beautiful jazzy piano and flute alongside inspirational vocals by Marianna, all beautifully arranged over a deeply stormin' groove.
Spiritual Blessings "Fancy life" (Gotta Keep Faith Records CD Promo)
Beside their slammin' remix for Barrio Latino (see above), Spiritual Blessings present their own new project "Fancy life". The original version is a groovy affair featuring melodic keys and sexy female vocals over a smoothly thumpin' beat. The Insatiables take it to the next level with their re-edit that adds some nice twists and turns, while the 'Blessings in the Funky Mix' is on a crazed-out, pumped-and-funked-up tip. The 'Deep in the Dubby Life Mix' is an early morning sure shot with its athmospheric keys over a deep groove. Georg Neufeld reworks it into a deep house track with a moody edge, while lastly Grantorino (aka DJ Rico and Mr. Fuzz) provide their deep house interpretation with slightly techy keys.
Exclusive Review: Filta Freqz "4 tha soul" (4 Pole Relick)(CD-R)
Simon Cortez and Marco Manrique (aka Filta Freqz) deliver another slamming funky house track that is spreading a feel good vibe through the fiercely stormin' groove, the wicked disco-funk flavors and the sexy female vocal chants, while the clever breaks and build-ups guarantee hands-in-the-air on the dancefloor as soon as the tune is dropped.
Exclusive Review: Andy Tamashi "It couldn't rain 4ever" (Abicah Soul Fever Dub Mix)(Consortium Muzik Records CD Promo)
The original version of "It couldn't rain 4ever" can be found on the "Da way it should be done EP", a true deep house production with magnificent ambient-ish keys and melodic chords that give the track a laidback feeling perfect for afterhours play. Abicah Soul provide a brand new remix, smoothing down the beats and enriching them with sweet percussion while the chords and keys are replaced with an irresistible piano that creates a hypnotic vibe and spaced out synths.