Late Summer/Early Fall Record Round-Up

Yeah yeah yeah. I know, I’ve been promising this new records post for a hot minute. I get stuck in these cycles where I think “I’ll just wait till that next shipment comes in the mail before I do that write-up,” and by the time they show up there’s already another box in the mail that can be waited on. This is a good problem to have, right? Anyway. Due to the amount of new shit I’ve gotten (well over 50 records counting new and used) since the last post, I have whittled away almost all of the used records and most of the new ones that have gotten lots of publicity elsewhere and kept only those hot new joints that have been keeping me rocking for the past couple months. Let’s get into it!

One of the most mindbending releases for me (and one that has gotten some attention in many places but is just too good to not get top billing) this year has been Kassem Mosse’s “Untitled” on Laid. I’m not really sure about many of the records I’ve heard from this cat, to be honest. But this one is the truth! Sick, deep, analog house/techno that sounds like it was made on another planet. I hope the people of Pittsburgh like this one, because I’ve been beating them to death with it and I expect that to continue well into the new year. Absolutely brilliant. One a related tip, I finally picked up Workshop 10, mainly for the awesome Ron Deacon cut that I first heard when my man Chris O’Connor played it at the Technoir release party earlier in the summer.

Juju & Jordash are longtime favorites of mine, I don’t think I need to explain why anymore at this point. So it is obviously very noteworthy when they drop what I consider to be their best tune, the lovely “Tattoo’s Island”. Part Chicago house, part Balearic, and part crazy, this tune and its dub mix are flawless deep house with character to go for miles. Add in the island photo on the label and the clear vinyl, and it all works together so well. Another one of the top singles of the year thus far, and a favorite of mine to drop during the hot summer months! Here’s a link to them discussing the process of making this gem in the studio.

An artist who has easily moved into “buy on sight” status is Nebraska. I’ve gone on about his previous EP (and the slept on LP on Down Low from a couple years back) on Rush Hour, and this new one is just as good. Sample based, but still very live sounding organic house music! Rush Hour sure have great taste, even when they are pillaging my collection to reissue some of the dopest gems ever put to wax and kind of pissing me off a bit in the process.

For those who didn’t see it, I did the label profile for We Play House over at Resident Advisor when they were chosen as September’s Label of the Month. You can grab a mix by our homeboy Red D over there that features one of the recent WPH 12″s, “Cinnamon Dreams” by Nacho Marco & Raoul Lambert. WPH are so consistent, it’s hard to find weak tracks in their catalog. This, however, stands out even in that company as one of the label’s best. “Cinnamon Dreams” is a warm, beautiful deep house joint that is augmented by slight acidic flourishes that build up to a crescendo.

The Beautiful Swimmers and their Future Times label are yet another reason to be excited about American dance music in 2010, and their latest, “Big Coast”, is a lovely summer cut that crams 80s disco drums in with vocal chants and echoed out synths and horns to make a beautiful slow-mo dancefloor moment. The video perfectly captures the vibe of the song, too! “Give It All You Got” on the B-side is also getting much play in my sets.

ISM contributor Jitterbug recently saw the release of his second EP on Uzuri, entitled the “Beaten Trax EP”. My lone criticism of his first release was that the DJ Qu remix didn’t really fit in with his sound all that well. On this one, it’s all Jitterbug and the results are better for it. Lo-fi, soulful MPC house music is what this is all about.

A few new disco (I’m so not gonna call it “nu disco”, fuck that) producers whose work is sporadic but excellent have dropped new discs recently. Walter Jones’ “Hot Contact/Falling” does not have the immediate appeal of his DFA 12″ from last year, but they are high quality synthy disco/house cuts with remixes that make them a bit more straightforward without losing the personality that make his tracks so distinctive. Carlos Hernandez has his (shockingly, since I have the Basenotic split 12″, the remix on Bear Funk, and I’ve been after that Balihu with his cut on it for a hot minute!) very first solo 12″ “East New York Stories” out now on James Duncan’s always special Le Systeme label. Being related to Carlos and Jorge Santana would lead you to believe that this would be soulful, musical shit, and of course it is. Relatedly, Morgan Geist takes a turn at remixing Tracey Thorn inna uptempo 80s electro disco style, and though one of my close friends is not into it, I am loving it. Maybe I’m just a sucker for her sweet voice, but whatever.

Our man Kai Alcé and his NDATL label have a bunch of projects lined up, two of which have recently come out. First up is Kemeticjust and Terrance Downs’ “I Got Live” on NDATL. DJ Spinna does the business with the main A-side mix, while Kai and Kemeticjust do up the B-side with Kai’s Dub mix being particularly deep. Also on the vocal side of things is Kai’s collaboration with Phil Asher on Phil’s Restless Soul label. Kayenne lays down some sweet soulful vocals on a jazzy house cut, while similarly dope soulful cuts from Bah Samba and AC Layne round out a nice EP for those who like to sing along with their house music. I’m really excited for the next installment of the Music Institute series on NDATL, as it features an edit of a classic dance song by one of Detroit’s legends that I REALLY can’t wait to get my hands on!

Detroit artists are, of course, keeping it deep as usual. Reggie Dokes has a new one on a Chilean label (that also has a Kai Alce rmx on one of the other 12″s, I think Keith Kemp did one on another as well) that continues his weirdly melodic style, especially on the dope “She’s On My Mind”. Kyle Hall checks in with his strongest release thus far with “Solar Funk” on his own Wild Oats imprint. He is best when he keeps it simple, and “Solar Funk” is not much aside from some banging drums and funky synths. On a hiphop tip, Wajeed did the beat for Invincible’s ridiculous “Detroit Summer”, an awesome ode to an awesome city. High quality real hiphop on 7″ vinyl! Eddie Fowlkes’ City Boy label drops a new one from the mysterious Black Extraterrestrial, the only info on the label indicating that Delano Smith did “extra production” on it. The A-side is a disco sampling banger, while I prefer the B-side’s smooth vocal cut “The Journey”. Rick Wade, Rick Wilhite, and Norm Talley joint Mike Huckaby on 3rd Ear’s “Defenders of the Deep House World”. While the sound samples of this one didn’t really tickle my fancy, I ordered it anyway because I trust all of those cats. And this one definitely sounds better in person on a nice system where the deep bass and banging drums can properly do their thing. Not quite as diverse in sound as other 3rd Ear Detroit House projects, but still deep as you’d expect. Huck’s remix of Rick Wilhite is the one I’ve been banging out from this EP. Also, it features dope Alan Oldham artwork on the sleeve:

Chicago is holding it down as well! Jamie 3:26’s edit of Calender’s “Coming On Strong” got the repress recently, and I eagerly grabbed it up as I had missed it the first time around. Seriously, this is one of those funky disco stormers that just blows it up. Essential. Our man Jerome Derradji from Still Music drops a solo joint on Stilove4music that is good all around, but ESPECIALLY for the deep soulful edit “Always On My Mind”. I’m not gonna reveal the original, but apparently the chorus just had to go. What remains is just beautiful. DJ Skull is back (from who knows where) on his “Chi-Life EP” with the BPMs turned slightly down, which makes me very happy. Known for his starkly minimal but always funky techno, this one borders on house music with dramatic strings and dubbed chords on top of his usual production formula.

New York has brought it recently as well. It was the site of the live show documented on the Moritz Von Oswald Trio’s Live album which features special guests Carl Craig on modular synth and Francois K on the mix. While not as musically captivating as the live set at DEMF this past year, this is an excellent companion to the classic studio album from last year. Taking cues from those tunes, but not playing them directly, they show exactly how different they can make this music in a live setting. I’m a little late on this one, but I picked up this ridiculous record by Tazz and Jus-Ed on Ed’s Underground Quality label. I had to run over to trainspot the jazzy acid cut when Ed played it here a few weeks back at a wonderful outdoor BBQ, and luckily he had copies for sale with him. Again, I slept on Danny Krivit’s edit of Gary’s Gang’s “Let’s Lovedance Tonight”, but I sleep no more! Taking the best part (which just happened to be the break 3/4 of the way through the song) and turning it into an anthem in its own right, this is an awesome cut that I am very pleased to finally own. Helping to keep NYC’s edit culture alive is a label I discovered when the owner commented here on ISM a few months back. Junior4 Records has done two edit records that I haven’t heard much about. They picked some nice cuts though, the edit of Crown Heights Affair’s “Far Out” being my jam thus far. Looking forward to hearing more!

I’m gonna wrap it up here with a few used joints I picked up that you gotta know about if you don’t already. First off, I had to get this one after hearing ISM-cohort Scott Ferguson drop it on his new web radio show on My House Your House: Wham’s “Everything She Wants” 12″! I was never into Wham when I was younger, but this shit is above and beyond. I can’t imagine pop music this good being made anymore, especially that sick synth bass. Thanks for letting my jack your style, Scott! 😉

I also finally managed to pick up a record I’ve been looking for for over a decade on vinyl, Sly and Robbie’s A Dub Experience. I got the CD in the late 90s, and I was immediately taken by the early 80s electronic dub sound. Featuring drum machines, synths, and of course the wild reverbs and echoes, this is possibly my favorite dub record and just wonderful music. Get it if you can find it!

Another long-time want was fulfilled when I was out of town digging back in July. This time I snagged Ju-Par Universal Orchestra’s Moods & Grooves album, a soulful jazz-funk record that has been reissued and bootlegged. Originally on this small Ju-Par label outta Detroit (8 Mile, what?!), if you can get your hands on this in any way, just do it. Definitely one that the ISM crowd will eat up.

Pittsburgh has been a bit of a goldmine for dope boogie records recently. My favorite of the bunch (and this was very hard to narrow down because I’ve been getting so many good ones!) is “Clock on the Wall” by Double Vision. Produced by Eric Matthew in 1984, this is great party music. Play this late!