Denmark’s premier nu-jazz/Latin band delivers some tight Cuban house (think Matt Bianco in Colombia) whilst Swell Sessions’s version drops it deeper courtesy of girlfriend Elsa’s vocals. Meanwhile, new track “Four To Five” changes from cosmic jazz midway into deep rolling hip-hop…nice…
Various Artists The Discerning Dancefloor Vol. 2
The second in the series from DJ Nick Name, this supplies its title’s target well, this time with help from the US via Organic Grooves, DJ Angola, and Bolliger and Gloor. Four classy organic midtempo Afro/Latino cuts, good for any dancefloor.
Metro Area Orange Alert (DFA Remix)
An electronic disco beauty given the remix treatment courtesy of DFA, the production genius behind LCD Soundsystem and The Rapture. The result: hypnotic disco trash funk with relentless tight-ass drums. Includes the stupendous album cut “Dance Reaction” on the flip.
Ron Carroll Natural
One of Chicago’s pioneers reaffirms his vocal and production prowess on this smooth yet emotive slab. Shimmering keys, jabbing synths and a plaintive piano melody highlight the gospel-tinged original, while fellow Chi-boys Blakbeatniks remix the whole mess to edgier, more epic heights. Of course, Carroll’s brazenly classic vocals make this fundamentally good-good.
Osunlade Feat. Jaffa Native Tongue Revisited
New York Afro-house kingpin Osunlade and Montreal keyboard monster David Kakon go take-two on the first release for Osunlade’s Yoruba label, with solid results. A warm, sloshy-but-tight horn section leads a sax and some boompty percussion through the original, while Nick Holder’s remix takes it to minimal-loop paradise. Nifty and knockin’.
Mutron Hsart EP
Tokyo-based machine-man Mutron tosses around three twisty, catchy tributes to sci-fi trash culture. These lo-fi beat meanderings-from the anthemic Dr. Who damage of “Rotten Zipangu” to the theremin freak-out of “Foolish Dance” and the chiming ’80s-era robotic repetition of “Dotism”-outline less a style than an imposed retro-futurism.
Karltone & Stephanie B Space 80 EP
Go ahead and do that ’80s thing, but keep those annoying, faux-alienated vocals out of the damn mix. This French duo offers three tracks that illustrate two distinct ways to decorate a 4/4 machine beat: either make it cavernously abstract or simply melodic. Tasty bits from today’s future-past.
DJ Ali You Don’t Know
I almost slept on this one. DJ Ali vocally embraces the likes of Prince and D’Angelo over a tight and funky rhythm with a splash of the “West Coast wind.” A perfect blend.
Fries & Bridges Inside Out
Weeks & Moralez team up to create one side filled with heavy walkin’ bass ‘pon some crisp beats that is strickly for the dance. Other side, “It’s Your Space Master,” is deeper but just as moving.
Big Two Hundred Your Personal Filth
You might know Andy Meecham and Dean Meredith from the tasty Chicken Lips, but this side project is an even more stoned-out, dub-dripping dance album. Big Two Hundred’s debut clearly hails from the Land of Blood Pudding, as several bass-driven songs with punk attitude hark to the Clash, and much more blatantly, in one song an ambivalent voice and skeletal drum machine beats scream of David Bowie. Besides composing these elongated punk/disco/new wave songs as a sort of tribute to the early ’80s, a dated sound sneaks in from having recorded onto pre-disco era tape through vintage equipment. And so, as you listen to this album, you may feel pleasantly dirty.
