Saturday, April 30, 2011

Choices - April 2011

Artist - title (label)
Owen Jay & Melchior Sultana - Distant Dream (battibatti)
Owen Jay continues to deliver deepness with each release.  Here is two versions the broken beat original and the more raw Owen Jay remix.  Full Support!

var artists - We Love You Nippon (underground quality)
Super 25 tracks from the likes of Move D, Fred P, label boss Jus Ed, Nina Kraviz, Small People, Owen Jay, etc etc.  All deep, underground house and most important helping tremor, Tsunami struck Japan.  Go on the label site buy it and help.

var artists - Japanease A 120 Track Electronic Dance Music Project for Japan (Whatpeopleplay)
120 tracks divided in three volumes of forty each all featuring super high quality underground music in various styles from techno to chill out, some of them also being esclusive releases..  Considering the price this basically a give away. Support and help Japan. 

var arts - Soul Collective EP (SoundDesigners)
Six differents artists tracks, from Anton Zap, Scott Ferguson, Fred P, Le Loup, PeteBlas, and Lost in Space.  Cannot go wrong with the first three. 

Show-B - Come Down in Time (Poker Flat)
Just love the Time Comes Dub version.  Hypnotic nu deep in an african vibe.

Pinku Vaary - The Hartnolls (rakkaus)
Three versions the original, AtJazz, and Mario and Vidus Redo remix.  My preferred is the one by Mario and Vidus.

Chris Air - Red Sea EP (Gelbes Billet Muzik)
Red Sea features three versions.  This is deep but with a minimal touch to the overall production.  I like the Frankenbergs Namazu remix.

Soul Motion Replay - Heavy Duty (soulab)
Fourteen tracks all on a Nu Soul vibe to warm up the nites to lounge or to listen. My favorites are Think Better, Tropical Forest, and The Missing Disk.  But all is Nice!

Ryo Muracami - In Chain Fred P Remix (curle)
Two versions for In Chain Original and Fred P remix, and the very deep Feel It.

Crowdplease and St.Plomb - La Sorciere Doctoresse EP (Third Ear)
Four tracks EP and an extra remix by Emilie Nana for La Piu Belle Africaine.  The title track La Sorciere Doctoresse is the best of the bunch.

Sysknob - Souls EP (EXPMental)
An EP with three differernt tunes; Souls on the street, The Doors, Ohm Memory.  The Doors is my preferred.

Harley & Muscle - No Compromise Vol.01, Vol.02 (little angel)
The Italian deep house ambassadors present there new album which totals 25 tracks, all in a hypnotic jazz vibe, and varied groove styles.  Four different tracks also feature vocal colloborations by; Lem Springsteen, Joi Cardwell, Geridean, and Christopher McCray. 

Joe Babyblon - Debut EP (RoundaboutSounds)
Interesting with two tracks We Rise and I Speak Jive who gets remixed by Rick Wade and John Tejada.  For me the original for both versions are the best. 

STL - 51 North (something)
8 tracks but six are affects and the remaining two i.e. Inner Silence and Paperboy are just masterpeaces of Nu deepness with a Detroit influence.

Prommer and Barck - Alex and the Grizzly (derwin)
What an album with varied eleven tracks which go from loungy  to deep and more detroit sounds.  Buy it with your eyes closed and ears wide open. 

Arron Tesser The New Jazzz Affair - Light and Stars (Irma)
The original is a lounge jazz affair, but if you are into house like me go to Riccicomoto's Club up Edit which is nine minutes of Afro House with jazz.  If you like it shorter you can choose the six minutes Solar edit.  There is also a Marshall Fent, and Viani with Mr.T more soulful and less deep versions.

J.Dovy - The Funk Tapes Vol.6 (superhuit)
This series continues and if you want some cool funk house have a look at all the series by Dovy.  I like Downtown Grooves the most. 

Lady Blacktronica - First lady of Beatdown remixes (your only friend)
Six tracks and a total of three different tunes which are all remixed; Summertine in the City (1 remix by Joshua Iz), Lose My Life (2 remixes), Never Everything (three versions).  I like the Off the Wall remix of Lose my Life, and the Let my Egun Dance version of Never Everything.

var artists - Mental Beauty (composite)
14 tracks from different artist from the likes of DJ Yellow (two tunes), King Britt, James Teej, and Charles Webster here in remix duties.  All good altough I did choose the five deeper and dopest tracks, in my opinion but this is all worth a listen.

Move D - Hydrophonic EP (uzuri)
Your Personal Healer, Things Will Come for those who wait, Sur un Bateau avec Eric are the three tunes of this EP from one of the best producers coming out of Europe when it comes to deep house.

Andre Lodemann - Dont Panic EP (room with a view)
Your Choice and Dont Panic are the tunes here who are featured in the original Lodemann mix and then get remixed by Iron Curtis, and Master-H. 

var artists - Forward to the Past (Pokerflat)
As was shown in its recent releases which feature a very retro Chicago sound this highly regarded German label now presents a compilation with this sound.  As usual you get all the bells and whistles from fifteen very regarded producers who built quite a name for themselves in the last couple years in the deep house and techno scene.  My favorites are Cab Drivers 'Shoulder Pad' giving a Chicago modern thinking, and Sasse 'Hot for you' which has a touch of early Mr.Fingers aka Larry Heard vibe to it.

var artists - Group of Connected Heads Vol.2 (highgrade)
A compilation of twelve different tunes from various artists featuring the likes of Todd Bodine, Jens Bond, Tom Clark, and Cab Drivers. These last produce my favorite here in a there usual mechanical Movement way.  Cab Drivers are ahead if you like mechanical modern nu deep sounds.

Marcellus Pittmann - The East Side Story EP (seventh sign)
Three tunes; The Mad Underdog, You Want Me Never, and An Afternoons Delight all in a deep Detroit vibe.  I Like An Afternoons delight. 

Ave Astra - Cuts EP (seta)
Three tunes all of deep house sound from this varied genre label.  I like the underground house nineties sound Basic Cuts.

Thursday, April 21, 2011

Review: Owen Jay & Melchior Sultana present Distant Dream (batti batti bb06)

After the succesful and well received Memories of You EP on the New York, US Underground Quality label number 36, the Maltese duo return home.  This sixth release from BattiBatti does in fact see Owen Jay back to his home grown label.  For Batti Batti six Owen Jay and his studio partner Melchior Sultana take things back the deep route again with Distant Dreams offering two nice mixes.  The Original which is my preferred of the two, is a nice atmosphere build up with a very interesting broken drum pattern which takes a more hypnotic route half way through its journey.  Owen Jay Raw Edit which builds on the same pads takes things back to the old ways and reminds me a bit of old Kerri Chandler stuff may be due to the raw deep groove and distorted kick drum.  If you like deep stuff this is definitely worth a check, and sees BattiBatti continue to build its high reputation for a high quality label.