So much great music this week... It would have been unfair to choose just one or two picks, so its your turn to pick your favorites. Enjoy !!
Exclusive Preview: Vick Lavender "Fly away" (Vintage Mix)(Unreleased CD-R)
Exclusive Preview: Mr. A.L.I. "I feel you" (Unreleased CD-R)
While we wait for the release of Vick Lavender's album "The Evolution" (a former "Miami Highlight" here at Spirit of House, to be released on Sophisticado Records soon), there is plently of new wonderful music coming out of his studio. Vick Lavender's interpretation of "Fly away" is beautifully crafted, feauturing a marvellous orchestration and sultry female vocals that give the song an uplifting timeless feeling. Next we have "I feel you" which is going to be the first release from the upcoming Mr. A.L.I. (Vick Lavender and Jere McAllister) album. The original version is on a beautiful laidback old-school tip that is reminiscent of 70's soul/jazz/funk, while the 'Disco Mix' is firing things up for a smokin' discofied take. Both songs take you on a journey into soulful dance music you will remember for a long time.
Exclusive Preview: RaShaan Houston "Happy" (Monte Carlo Method Mix)(Ruff'N'Tuff Records CD-R)
Shortly after "I need to get away", we get another blessing from RaShaan Houston in the form of "Happy", an uplifting and inspiring song marvellously orchestrated in the 'Monte Carlo Method Remix', with a sweet percussion enriched groove leading the way for the passionate vocals, outstanding organ, lovely guitar and jazzy horns that altogether create a gorgeous, soulful vibe. As "I need to get away", this has timeless stamped all over.
Jephte Guillaume presents AK "Shining your way" (Part Two)(KingStreet Records CD Promo)
The delightful "Shining your way" by the team of Jephte Guillaume and japanese songstress AK gets a wonderful makeower on part two of the release. Blaze with the help of Jihad Muhammad deliver a beautiful interpretation that is creating a hypnotic vibe on the dancefloors with its atmospheric chords and the deeply stormin' groove that is enriched with sweet percussion. Danny Krivit comes up with another one of his unparalleled edits that gives the track an organic live feeling.
Exclusive Preview: Lonewolf featuring Claude Bain "Big tune" (Camio Records CD Promo)
Camio Records presents something a lil' bit different, courtesy of Lonewolf, a Toronto/Canada based DJ, producer and promoter. "Big tune" in its original form is a soulful midtempo paced track built around a deeply rumblin' groove that features old-school styled percussion elements, wicked keys and a passionate vocal by Claude Bain. Panevino provide the remix, speeding things up on their reworking, using a fiercely thumpin' beat and captivating keys to let the track create a relentless feeling. The release also includes the bonus track "Salama (peace)" which takes you on a journey into deep house grooves.
Exclusive Preview: Estranjeros featuring Rick Will "Reachin' in" (Raw Demo Mix)(Unsigned CD-R)
David Montoya and Juan Flores, who produce under the name Estranjeros, present yet another beauty after "Salambo" and "Be my". The beautifully arranged "Reachin' in" features Rick Will, one of their friends, who provides an inspirational jazzy saxophone solo that together with the catchy piano riff and deeply thumpin' beat creates an irresistible vibe.
D3 "September" (Gotta Keep Faith Records CD Promo)
D3 (which stands for Davor Devcic Daga) hails from Zagreb/Croatia. With "September", he presents a mellow and deep jazz house production beautifully orchestrated (just listen to that wonderful guitar solo) that creates a laidback feeling. Various remixes are included, with Spiritual Blessings (DJ Jean & DJ Ezio) keeping it jazzy while taking it to deeper grounds with added sax and piano. Georg Neufeld comes up with a deep dubby take which featues a lovely flute and great keys, while Jack In Da Box (a new pseudonym of Frederic Fauping) turns the track into a dreamy deep house gem featuring sweet female vocals, classic strings and wicked synths.
Blvd East "Mototronic" (DeepHaven Music Records CD Promo)
Since we first heard a rough demo of this track at this years Winter Music Conference at the DeepHaven party, we couldn't wait for this one to finally come our way. Blvd East (aka James Rivera and Christian Perez) serve an absolute beauty with "Mototronic", an irresistible atmospheric track that is a wonderful blend of those classic timeless chords heard back in the day on Patrick Cowley's remix of Donna Summer's "I feel love" with a deeply stormin' percussion enriched beat. Included are a stripped version and handy beats, making this a DJ essential.
MoHo Allstars featuring Solara "Life is what you make it" (MoreHouse Records CD Promo)
The Groove Junkies pleasantly surprise us with with their latest "Life is what you make it" that is somewhat a departure from their usual sounds, but as all their previous productions this one is full of energy and relentless power that will take dancefloors by storm. The track features sexy and passionate vocals by Solara alongside spoken words by Sista Mista and lets you choose between funk soaked and electro flavored mixes, all of which are guaranteed to force the crowd to dance and raise their hands. Alongside vocal and instrumental versions, there are beats and acapells included that will make this a joy to work with.
Hot Hands presents Karyna "Quiero tus caricias" (DJ Meme Remix)(Pino Music Records CD Promo)
After his massive mixes of Hanna Hais' "Jungo", DJ Meme strikes again big with these smokin' remixes of "Quiero tus caricias" by Karyna. DJ Meme uses a fiercely stormin' percussion enriched beat to give the track a slight tribal feeling, with melodic keys, piano and jazzy horns accompanying the passionate vocals by Karyna to create a feel good anthem that is guaranteed to rock the dancefloors.
Alfred Azzetto "Colors" (Purple Music Records CD Promo)
Alfred Azzetto presents the feel-good anthem "Colors" which was promoted at this years Winter Music Conference (on the "WMC 2007 Master Cuts" promo sampler) - interestingly DJs all the time played an acapella over it - most famous must be the mash-up with KOT's "Finally" (the CD sticker says "this track sounds perfect with different accapellas mixed on the top"...). The 'Walterino Main Mix' is a fierce production featuring classic strings and wicked keys that give the track a modern disco sound, while the 'Piano Mix' is on a deeper edge, with a great piano hook added (that is reminiscent of Bas Noir "My love is magic"). On the remix side, we see DJ Fopp providing a groovy dub with a wicked organ added, while Christian Hornbostel's reworking gives the track a smooth yet fierce tribal feel.
dj B "I've got to know" (SoulFuric Trax Records CD Promo)
dj B returns to SoulFuric with the massive "I've got to know", an irresistibly stormin' production titled "I've got to know" that is perfect for bigger rooms and peak time play with its catchy synth lines and wicked vocal chants. The 'WeLoveHouse@Zouk Mix' is on a slighltly deeper edge while not loosing any energy, with the 'After Midnight Dub' taking things to a somewhat more electrofied level. An instrumental and drum tool are included, nicely rounding off this package.
Exclusive Preview: Rasmir "Livin' my life without you" (Mantree Records CD Promo)
The one and only Rasmir Mantree yet again explores new grounds with his latest "Livin' my life without you" to serve us a deeply rumblin' track built around a broken beat styled groove that gets as deep as it gets, with electrofied snyths and wicked spoken words sitting nicely on top. The dub is a great alteration, stripping most of the vocals to create a more intense feeling.