Jairo Catelo - The Wicked Crew EP

I'm not the world's biggest fan of African rhythms, chanted vocals, hand percussion and such, but on La Onda here they're balanced nicely by the use of a strong 4/4 kick as well, with insistent vocal stabs joining the party to create a rhythmically-inclined floor workout that'll keep ’em moving for sure. Suspicious Minds, however (which comes in original and Afrilounge Remix forms) is a more full-on Afro-tastic number; it'll no doubt please those that like that sort of thing but leaves me a tad cold.

The real action for these ears here, though, is actually the bonus cut… which, oddly, doesn't seem to have any connection to Jairo Catelo at all. Go figure. Feygin's B Local is a more straight-up affair driven by looped, treated vox, handclaps and cowbells to start with, slowly introducing a pulsating b-line and an understated organ part before the main near-falsetto soulful male vocal refrain makes itself felt. I believe once upon a time in deepest, darkest New York City, they used to call this kind of thing 'garage music', but no-one seems to remember that any more…

Out: Now (3 Feb)

About: Jairo Catelo hails from Spain, Feygin from NYC, Afrilounge from Germany… what a truly international affair house music is these days. Kiara Records, meanwhile, is still quite a new-ish imprint based in Barcelona, and you can find 'em on MySpace, where you can currently hear all the tracks on this EP.