Anonym - Lov Is Easy

Yes, this is actually called Lov is Easy. What is it with dance music producers that they think it's big and clever not to spell properly? Anyway, this comes atcha on D'Julz's Bass Culture imprint – it's only their sixth release – and hails from Detroit, apparently.

You can kinda tell cos it's got that proper US underground vibe going on. My favourite track here, Do You Wanna Party? poses the titular question repeatedly over a steady 909 (or is it 808?) kick, handclaps and a scratchy, looping sample that sounds like the needle's gotten stuck on a dusty old jazz record… nice. Lead track Lov Is Easy makes use of some similar filtered kinda sounds, again with a looping vocal but more of discofied kinda feel, and those kind of whoosh-y kicks that make you feel like you're on E even when you're not (perish the thought, officer).

I'm not as taken with third cut Midnight Sun Express, which just sounds a bit generic Ibiza-y compared to the other two, but this is well worth your cash all the same.

Out: "Feb/Mar" is what it says, so round about now I guess.

About: As stated, this is the sixth release from D'Julz's Bass Culture imprint, based in Paris, and pretty much every one has been a cracker – you can do the proverbial out-checking thing here.

If on the other hand you just Google 'bass culture', you'll find lots of links to Lloyd Bradley's excellent history of reggae that goes by the same name, or possibly the Linton Kwesi Johnson album from 1980. I can heartily recommend both, as it goes, but neither has much to do with scratchy, ruff-sounding underground house music.