The weather is starting to warm up and the vaccine is rolling out quickly in the US, giving hope for a summer that will feel a bit more lively than last. My little outdoor party squad with Eric Justin and Jwan Allen is starting to get things ready for the season, providing an alternative to stuffy, smoky nightclubs that probably won’t feel totally comfortable for a while. The parties we did in September and November were great fun and safe, and we anticipate picking up the frequency as well as doing so with a more robust infrastructure.
Vincent and I are also coordinating another ISM streaming party set for March 27 over on the Rhythm Nation SD Twitch channel. The flyer can be found at the top of this post, and it promises another lineup full of dope underground music spanning from Ireland to Japan, including a live set from the man Jason Hogans (more on his new releases in just a few paragraphs!).
And one of these days my record might actually come out. LOL. So yeah, things are looking up. Here are some of the new records you will be sure to hear at these various streams and soirées we have in store for 2021….
Jason Hogans – Fresh Concern EP –
Alélah Records
Jason Hogans – Malletts Creek – Sound Signature
Jason’s first vinyl release came all the way back in 1998 in the middle of a crush of classic releases in the peak era of Planet E. Records after that came a little slowly, but he’s been building up a lot of momentum over the past few years with the killer “Sue” for Moods & Grooves as well as a sick Mini LP for Third Ear. 2021 is looking to take that energy even further, with new EPs for Alélah and Sound Signature both dropping this spring. On Fresh Concern, Jason deftly combines his love of hiphop’s breakbeats with the moodiness of deep house and the synth work of techno. Fitting in quite nicely with the new wave of Black American dance music but with his own distinctive rhythmic twist, this combination still feels fresh and exciting since it is rarely executed so well. For Malletts Creek, Theo Parrish (unsurprisingly) selects a more abstract set of Jason’s tracks, leaning even more heavily on the half time bounce of hiphop along with heavy doses of jazzy instrumentation and fat synth bass. This EP has strong crossover potential with the beat scene crew with its crunchy drums and strict adherence to Low End Theory. Both of these releases are in heavy rotation at my house already and I’m looking forward to playing them for other people in a set.
Dia.L – Injera – ETC Records
Dia.L is a collaboration between beatsmith Radius and vocalist Lailah Reich, and Injera marks their second Mini LP release over the last few years. This one originally came out two years ago digitally, but the vinyl just dropped and it still sounds hot and essential, always a good sign. Radius is known for both house/techno with a psychedelic edge as well as hiphop beatmaking, and on this album he combines the two seamlessly, crafting a neo soul infused take on deep house that features more rhythmic diversity than just the standard stereotypical four on the floor. Lailah’s vocals are very strong and act as the centerpiece, holding the songs together while the beats bob and weave further towards abstraction. This record throws me back to the early 00s releases on Rush Hour that were electronic but not so easy to classify and dripped with soul and funk. That approach takes much skill to pull off this well, which is why it always ends up feeling like the future.
Kai Alcé – Luv Fantasy – NDATL
It seems as though the general public is finally catching up to Kai’s prowess as the creator of a never ending stream of vocal house music classics, but this new EP is another reminder that his skills are just as sharp when crafting instrumentals. These three tracks all combine the elements of classic deep house and garage as if New Jersey and Detroit were very close to each other, and Rick Wade and Jovonn were next door neighbors. Classy but with a grimy edge, it is obvious that Kai has picked up where his mentor Brett Dancer’s classic Track Mode label left off, and this sound is always dope and never out of style.
Gerald Mitchell – The Metamorphosis of Twookie Wonder Brown – Mother Tongue
It’s starting to feel like I should just create a keyboard shortcut that types “Mother Tongue does it again!” because, well, Mother Tongue has done it again. Gerald Mitchell is clearly operating on another level altogether right now, and Mother Tongue has shown they have the pressing chops to make sure the music is treated as something this good deserves. These tracks aren’t quite the obvious dancefloor killers that his last release for Mother Tongue (under the Los Hermanos name) was all about, but they are just as dope in their own way. Bringing the tempo back down to the funk and sporting a Parliament-esque spoken word, the A side’s “Twookie Wonder Brown” tells the story of a toucan (?!) who wants to dance like James Brown and sing like Stevie Wonder while the B side’s “Celebrity BBQ Party” is another continuation of 2020’s concept album with Bill Beaver. When you add the excellent comic book style art by Headsplosion on a thick sleeve, this is another ridiculously cool looking and sounding record.
Alex Attias and Peven Everett – “Love Dimension” – Visions Inc.
Alex Attias and his Visions Inc. label have been stepping up the cross pollination of soulful American artists with quality European artists, including one of my personal favs from last yeah that he made with Georgia Anne Muldrow, “I Wanna Know”. Here he works with the legendary Peven Everett, and it’s another big hit… which is pretty unsurprising but nevertheless very welcome. Peven’s loose but memorable lyrics and delivery flow over Alex’s upbeat rhythms and minimal chords perfectly. The dub adds some complexity to the instrumentation which is cool, but it’s always gonna be about the vocal here for me. Surely one of the best of 2021 so far.
Patrick Gibin, Kaidi Tatham, and Josh Milan – “Love To The World (Theo Parrish Reinterpretations)” – Neroli
The ever-reliable Neroli take one of their recent anthems and get an all-time great to remix it. They make it seem easy, but the number of records that never come close to this level of quality ensure that we know exactly how difficult it really is. Theo flips Josh Milan’s vocals into a more loopy and seemingly Rotating Assembly influenced track, and it seems like this was always where they were meant to be. Uplifting and breezy, this is exactly the feeling that the world needs right now. It’s never a guarantee, even with this name quality artists involved, but this one is absolutely gorgeous and essential.
Thelma Houston – “I’m Here Again (Edit By Mr. K)” – Most Excellent Unlimited
This was originally released on a basically unobtanium Japanese RSD record back in 2015. I’ve been annoyed at how expensive it has been ever since, but now we can all celebrate as it is finally widely available at a standard price thanks to Most Excellent Unlimited. This is easily one of the best edits of the last decade and is truly a dancefloor killer, looping up the big strings from the break of the Thelma Houston original and shooting it all into the stratosphere. Awesome.