Various - A Crew Reason EP

Fabio Gianelli's District Raw imprint has put out just four singles so far… and so far I've loved all four of them. Which isn't a bad start at all…

Four tracks from three artists on this latest release, all of whom are Italian. First up is Dario LC's Time For Change, which is a heads-down, dark driving house kinda thang at first but gets a little looser and funkier as it goes on. Then there's Motorship City by B. Green and Redmond; this is another heads-down driving affair, but to be honest doesn't really do enough. Ne'ermind, cos then we're on to the two tracks from Alessandro Sensini. First, Funky Mind is set on a backbeat that's loose enough to almost sound like a funk break, even though it's still essentially 4/4, and features a variety of muted brass stabs and crowd noises to keep 'em moving.

And then finally, also from Sensini, comes Vivi, which is the real treat here. A spoken male vocal, presumably sampled from a public information film or some such, informs us that "both alchohol and marijuana are equally capable of producing erratic behaviour and dependency" over a dark, brooding house backdrop which has slight prog/tribal tinges, especially in the minor key piano chords, but which is really Very Good Indeed.

Out: Now (but only since April 29)

About: Like I said, this is on District Raw, who've not put a foot wrong so far, for me. Here's their MySpace. I'd like to tell you more about the artists, but like Manuel, I know nothing…