Sunday 27 February 2011

Some albums, quickly…

It's been a while since we did one of these! But here are some decent albums I've received lately that didn't make it into the pages of iDJ, at least not reviewed by me…

John Morales
The M+M Mixes Vol 2
(BBE)
The second collection of John Morales' legendary dancefloor mixes from back in the original disco era, many of them never before released officially (having at the time just been handed out to DJs on then-new-fangled promotional 12"s). As with Vol 1, there are quite a few well-known tracks and some of the rubs aren't HUGELY different from the mixes you already own… but this is an essential purchase for disco 'spotters all the same. And I now know that (part of) the vocal from one of my all-time favourite house records, What Cha Gonna Do? by Vil-N-X from 1992, actually comes from the Fantastic Aleems' Get Down Friday Night. Which I didn't, this morning. Every day's a school day. Oh yeah, and Morales' take on Now Is Tomorrow by Brass Construction – a record I've played out countless times – is replacing the original for me from now on!

Out: Tomorrow! It's almost like I planned it, isn't it?

Joey Negro presents…
The Soul Of Disco Vol 3
(Z Records)
The man like Dave Lee, whatever you might think of some of his more commercial dance offerings, is generally regarded as one of the UK's leading experts on soul, disco, funk and boogie music. So when he puts together a disco collection, you'd be seriously well advised to listen. This latest in the Soul Of Disco series – the emphasis being on proper, heartfelt songs from the original disco era y'see – is no exception. Which is why it's getting a review at this late stage in the game

Out: For a while now, sorry, but it's taken me this long to get hold of a full-length copy. I don't review samplers…

Various
Great Carnival Stuff Vol 2
(Great Stuff)
For a while now, I've been struck by the fairground-like nature of a lot of the jauntier, bouncier tech-house coming out of Germany and eastern Europe (I seem to recall describing Andhim's Wirsing as sounding like Oompah-Loompahs on pills). I'm clearly not alone in noticing this, as this second carnival-themed compilation from Great Stuff shows. It's full of, er, jaunty, bouncy tech-house, much of it from Germany and Eastern Europe. With artists including many TIWWD regulars/favourites like Heartik, Rainer Weichhold, Namito and Lützenkirchen, it's a bit of a no-brainer, really. Step right up, a prize every time!

Out: Tomorrow (28 Feb)

Sishi Roesch
Galactic Ghetto Games
(Endemic Digital)
Sticking with the tech house vibes, here comes Sishi Roesch, who's delivering a full-length already despite being a relative newcomer to the scene. With Galactic Ghetto Games, though, he more than delivers the goods, and if deep, techy house with a forward-thinking, experimental edge but also the occasional nod to the vintage sounds of Chicago and Detroit sounds like your kinda thang, then I suggest you get on this young Guatemalan-born German/Italian Barcelona resident (!) now. Be the first kid in your street, astound your parents, amaze your friends, etc...

Out: 7 March

Various
The Riot! 2
(1605 Music Therapy)

I'm not really a techno person, admittedly… but I'm a lot more of a techno person than I used to be. And when I've got my techno head on (you should see it, it's got flashing lights and circuit-bent PCBs and all sorts), then Umek's 1605 Music Therapy is possibly my favourite techno label, cos they really do understand about qualities like funk and groove. With a whopping 40 cuts, mostly from new artists and covering various styles from bleepy to funky to acid and even to disco-fied (and thankfully very little in the way of the nosebleed/
jackhammer/screeching), this second V/A collection proves it.

Out: 7 March

Various (mixed by MRK1)
Future Dubstep 04
(Big In Ibiza)
Coming as it does from a label out of the Media stable (home also to Nukleuz) you might expect this to be some horrible cash-in effort full of kiddy-friendly bollocks… but it's not, mostly. There are a few dodgy AutoTune'd trance lite vocals, sure, but not too many. And yes, you're looking at the 'big stoopid gnarly bass noise' end of dubstep rather than anything more cerebral, experimental or, indeed, dubby. But with Manchester's leading grime/dubstep bod MRK1 at the controls, the cheese-ometer never swings into the red for too long, and it definitely has its moments (though I can't tell you what they care, cos the promo isn't track-marked). If you can swallow the cheese slices, there are some proper dark rave nuggets to be discovered here, all from relative newcomers. So we're NOT at home to Mr Snobby today, okay?

Out: 1 March, I believe (they've not told me, but that's when a couple of download stores are saying they've got it available).

There you go: disco, deep/tech house, techno and dubstep: that lot should keep you going for a bit…

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