Ellesse - Thought About It

Manchester's rising deep house star Ellesse is getting a lot of attention right now, and rightly so. Here's our boy's latest, and there's no sign of the quality standards slipping just yet!

Thought About It in its Original form is a big organ number that's sure to cause maximum grinnage on the dancefloor. There are also some Detroitian synth strings and Balearic pia-pia-pianos thrown in for good measure, but the more contemporary-sounding topline and vocal snips save it from being a mere 'back to the old school' offering. Quality stuff that proves there's life in those classic house sounds yet! On the B, Jordan Peak's Rogue Rework takes us a notch or seven deeper, with a shuffling, heads-down groove topped off with breathy, ethereal vocal stabs and some almost psychedelic synth-squiggles.

So: just the two tracks, yet whether you're rocking a 2am main floor or a druggy basement at 7am, Ellesse has it covered. Like I said, he's getting mucho props for a reason.

Out: This week

About: This is of course on Ellesse's own label Kaluki Musik, a spin-off from his Kaluki night at Sankeys. You can find Kaluki on MySpace or check out the podcasts here.

Funk Mediterraneo - Saturday Life EP

An excellent three-tracker here from Funk Mediterraneo, AKA Italian Brothers Carlo and Rosario Turturici.

In Silence is a jazz-tinged dancefloor deep houser with a west coast feel and a tinkling piano piano hook that sounds like it might be a tiny snippet of Hall & Oates' much-sampled I Can't Go For That (although equally it might not). Tanto Con Te is a more driving number that builds slowly from drum-led intro, working party noise samples over a fat, bumping b-line. But the killer here is Saturday Life itself, a simply irresistible little mid-to-uptempo groover which boasts three competing vocal samples: a fast-chat jazzy rap of the kind that means this cut would be right at home on Salted or Drop Music, plus that classic "Saturday, it's Saturday" sample and, least likely of all, a little drop of Grease… it sounds like it could be a bit cheesy but, remarkably, it's not. It's just a straight-up call to the dancefloor and for pulling THAT off, the bros Turturici are to be applauded.

Out: Last week but we're playing catch-up here

About: This is on Uma Recordings, an offshoot of Jazzy Eyewear's Miami-based So Sound Recordings. They don't seem to have a website of their own but you can find So Sound here or visit Funk Meditteraneo themselves on MySpace.

Changes, and a free dubstep track

Please bear with me, there are some fairly major upheavals going on here at TIWWD Central, but will be back on course soon.

In the meantime, here's some free gnarly dubstep shizzle just so's you know I'm still alive.

If you dig the freebie, you can buy the whole release here

That's all for now, be back soon...

Solid Frame - "Forever" (Hanuman Tribe Freebie) FREE DOWNLOAD by riotriotrecords

Wasabi & Outcode - Groove On

Just a very quick post tonight, for two reasons: 1. Self and GF have just had the canoe out on the river, so in need of some serious sofa-based relaxation now, and 2. There's just the one track here… not sure if the full release will have more but there's just the one track promo'd at any rate.

And, as it's from label boss Wasabi (plus Erase stalwart Outcode), it doesn't deviate too much from the kind of thing you'd expect from Erase, either… except that while you'd normally associate Erase with no-nonsense tech-house chuggers made for the dancefloor, this IS all those things but with a little more funk/soul in its veins as well.

Another very likeable little offering from Erase then, basically. Groove on indeed.

Out: This week

About: As discussed, this is on Erase, which is Wasabi's own label, based in Greece. Find out more via their website, which has links to all their various social media sites. Too lazy to post individual links but if you want to HEAR THIS, well, you can...

Wasabi & Outcode: Groove On ( Clip ) by Erase Records

Little Roy - Sliver

Following on from the Lotek thing yesterday... got sent this this morning: Nirvana covered by reggae legend Little Roy. Well, I didn't actually get sent it, I just got sent a link to it on YouTube, which would normally just get deleted right away. But in this case I thought it'd be good to share...

Lotek - International Rudeboy

Gotta say, there's nights when you're in the mood to think of something new and interesting to say about yet another deep house record… and nights when you're not. This is one of those where I'm not, really, so instead here's a sampler EP for the new Lotek album, which is out on the 25th.

I'm not really sure if it's an actual sampler EP that's gonna be in shops n' that, or just a three-track promo because they don't trust me with the full LP! Doesn't matter though. The track we're most concerned with here is Rebel Hi-Fi, which is a slab of heavy rocker's reggae/dub, albeit with a dubstep-tinged bassline that places it firmly in the here and now and not some smokey Brixton basement in the mid-70s. And with some quality toasting on top.

International Rudeboy and Don't Want No are similarly reggae-fied, but at the end of the day more in a UK hiphop vein which ain't really me. But Rebel Hi-Fi rocks.

Out: See above

About: This is on UK hiphop/funk/soul/jazz label First Word Records, who can be found online here.

Z-Factor - Keep On Jumpin'

You know the song, of course – originally by Musique and covered to glorious mid-90s handbag effect by both Todd Terry and the Lisa Marie Experience. You might have forgotten, however, that Mr David of Leeshire had a crack at it back in the mid-90s too, wearing his Z-Factor hat.

Well, he did. Now his take gets a second run-out in the form of a brace of new mixes from hot Italian talent Luigi Rocca… and, well, what can I tell you? Yes, you know pretty much what this is gonna sound like before you even hear it, but with so much shoddy second-rate disco house doing the rounds right now, there's no harm in the young pretenders getting an object lesson in how it's done properly from the original master. Keep on jumpin' indeed.

Oh yeah, and while Mr Rocca's vocal mix is a fairly classic-style peaktime rendering, his Dub is a more stripped-down affair that would work on deeper/later floors as well, ensuing this release is no one-trick pony.

Out: This week

About: This comes atcha of course on Mr Lee's own Z Records, who live here.

Nique - Hoyne EP

Some quality house vibes on Manchester Underground Music here. Unusually for this label though, the artist involved isn't actually from Manchester... but rather from the birthplace of house music, Chi-Town itself. The Hoyne EP marks his first full release on MUM, following on from his remix of Rulers Of The Deep's Fettle.

Again there are three tracks to choose from. Left On Hoyne fuses techy and soulful elements to great (deeper) dancefloor effect, Right On Hoyne is a sparser but still brings da funk while Two Blocks West is a deeper groove with snippets of sampled speech, truncated Rhodes chords and all kinds of weirdy FX and atmospheres going on deep in the mix. One for those locked-on, 'eyes wide shut' 4am kinda moments.

A strong EP that suggests you might want to be keeping an eye out for Nique in the future.

Out: This week

About: Find out more about Manchester Underground Music on Facebook and MySpace

Outcode - Cabaret 1962

More tech-house vibes here as Columbian producer Outcode comes to Erase.

It's a three-track affair. The title cut is yer fairly standard tech-house chugger, with - yes - some jazz-era flourishes in the middle. Antonietta is a similarly tracky cut, this time working an insistent riff played on some kind of breathy South American pipes (you know the ones I mean), while finally Shake It goes down a more funkified route, with disco-style treated vox entreating you to, well, "shake it" to its driving, chuggy rhythms.

All told, there's nothing majorly groundbreaking going on but all three tracks will be solid bets for keeping booties moving on the dancefloor.

Out: This week

About: Visit Erase's Soundcloud page to HEAR THIS or hit up their website for links to their various other social media.

Le Daan & Tres Amigos - Tech House Tango

Germany's Housession and their various offshoots send me a ton of stuff but most of it is too commercial for TIWWD's purposes. So when they DO come up with the goods, it's only fair that they should get some blog love!

As the name implies, this works that 'tech-house meets Balkan/gypsy jazz' kinda vibe. And I know you're thinking it's a bit late in the day for that kind of carry-on… and yes, you'd be right, normally. But this has enough energy and chutzpah to get away with it still.

Three mixes on offer: the original plus re-rubs from Massimo Santucci & DJ Pearl, and Tujamo. They don't vary all that immensely, though Tujamo's adds an oompah-loopah horn 'bassline' that isn't in the other two… I think if pushed I'd play the Original over the two rerubs, but it's a close-run thing.

Out: This week

About: This is on Housession subsidiary Red Eleven, who can be found on Soundcloud (where you can HEAR THIS), on Facebook and at Housession's own website.

Brezza & JP DJ - Cosmo EP

More deep and funk-fuelled prog shizzle from the Eternal Music stable here.

Just the two mixes, but they're quite different. The Original is deep n' driving, the kind of thing that'd work as warm-up tackle for prog jocks or as a very late night bliss-out kinda affair on deep house floors. The Lysa remix, meanwhile, is an altogether twitchier, tech-house influenced affair.

Not got huge amounts to say about this one really – it be's that way sometimes – but it's solid stuff for sure.

Out: This week

About: Eternal Music are one of those labels who like to keep things mysterious… all I know is they send me a lot of stuff, mostly in a proggy kinda vain, and despite being a relatively young imprint they're up to their 6th compilation, which is also out this week - I'll try and get a separate post up about that but if not, well, yeah, Eternal Music Vol 6 is also out this week.

Can't find a website for them either so for now, here's JP's Soundcloud page instead, where you can currently HEAR THIS

Dual T - Loca Ella EP

Another winner from the Smiley Fingers camp here. Where do they keep digging up all these new talents FROM, eh? Well, from Cordoba, Spain in the case of Dual T. They're a two-piece outfit from the town of Calera, and here they serve up a three-track EP that will suit lovers of Smiley Fingers' funk-laden brand of deep/tech house down to the ground.

You get two mixes of Loca Ella itself, plus bonus cut Dias Terribles. In its original form, Loca Ella is a tuff but jaunty tech-houser with a walkin' bassline, sampled female jazz vox and crisp, percussion. The Sai Lika Remix goes for more tribal-feeling drums and slightly less of the vocal, while Dias Terribles is more straight-up house rather than tech-house, with Spanish vocals and some lovely Jersey garage-ish organs.

If it's tracky shit to keep booties moving you're after, look no further.

Out: This week

About: You should be familiar with Smiley Fingers by now, I've raved about 'em on here enough… but here's their website anyway.

Stanny Abram - Can't Get Enough

Stanny Abram is a name that keeps cropping up on my radar lately. Here he is again on newcomer label (this is only BTR006) Bos Tech.

There are three mixes of Can't Get Enough, but for some reason I only seem to have two of 'em here – the download must've hung up or something - so I can't tell you anything about the Liberty Klaude Mix. The original, though, is a groovy slab of deep house with a tech-y edge and a little garage-y groove at the same time – niceness! The Azur Odobasic Remix is in a slightly techier/proggier vein, but still with the groove in full effect. Both work the same one-line female vocal, chopped up to varying degrees.

One to keep the floor moving for sure, and more evidence that Mr Abram is definitely a name to keep an eye on.

Out: This week

About: Bos Tech is a relatively new label as I said, so I can't claim to know huge amounts about 'em. But – tireless Googler on your behalf that I am – I've just found out they're based in Bosnia & Herzegovina, and here's their Facebook and Soundcloud pages

Miguel Colmenares - Elastic Funk

The lead track here, Elastico, wins my favour from the off by featuring one of those ping-y 'space disco' noises prominently… that's definitely my favourite noise in the world. There's more to this three-track EP than just one very pleasing sound, though.

Er, well actually Elastico pretty much IS all about the ping-y space disco noise and some lush piano chords... but since when was yours truly ever likely to hold that against a track? Mono Funk is then a slab of sparse, tracky and driving dancefloor deepness with sampled vocal snips, and then finally Ground Floor moves back into lush, late-night territory, rounding out the EP nicely.

One '4 da headz', as one of my successors to iDJ's editor's chair so hated people saying. None of the tracks DO a lot, and some people might describe them as boring – Crookers fans and such. You and me, we'll just lose ourselves in their sonorous, soporific, soul-soothing beauty...

Out: This week

About: This comes atcha on Musical Missionary. They're not a label we hear loads from – this is only number eight - but they have featured on here before… they're essentially a US charity label, releasing tracks artists have given them for free to raise money for music and arts education for underprivileged kids. A worthy endeavour for sure… you can find out more here.

Oh yeah, and Miguel Colmenares is Spanish, BTW.

Owen Howells - Chips, Beans & Cheese EP

Sitting right on that house/techno crossover point, this is a strong offering from this upcoming producer.

Few Good Man works samples of disturbing film dialogue over a menacing midtempo that's like late 90s NYC tribal meets Belgian new beat… well, a bit like that, anywway... all a bit odd but very good. Lose Fun starts out like your typical moody, arty techno chugger before throwing in a whole bunch of unexpected melodic elements taking in jazz, house and more… with this one I'm reminded of the kind of leftfield house peddled by the excellent Star-Fi Recordings (who don't seem to love me any more BTW, if you were wondering why they'd not cropped up on here lately).

And then best of all, there's Grumpy Tac, a thumping dancefloor deep houser with an old skool feel and a Martin Luther King (I think?) speech sample that older heads will remember from the DJ Rush track, But It Really Doesn't Matter With Me Now, to which it gave its name back in the days when Cajual/Relief reigned supreme (see here if you don't know what I'm talking about)

Out: This week

About: After downloading this one I got a very friendly and polite email from Mr Howells asking if there was any chance of it getting a review because "it would be a big help to a relative newcomer such as myself". Well after he asked so nicely how could I refuse… especially that I'd already flagged up the EP for a write-up anyway.

So yeah, this is on Isle of Man-based Wunderkammer Recordings, it's their 9th release I believe, and you can find out more about 'em by clicking here.

Danny Daze - Your Everything

Well, here we are, Monday morning again… and after a weekend where blogging took second fiddle to a) running around St Paul's Carnival in Bristol with an airhorn and b) downloading a ton of new choonage, got some QUALITY new releases to tell you about this week.

The hype sheet for this one calls it "an addictive brew of potent disco tech" and claims it was "the undeniable highlight of WMC". Strong words, but musically, Your Everything is certainly a birrova beast, with a HUGE walking bassline that recalls classic Underwater-style Brit house circa 2002. I'm less convinced by the indie-ish vocal though. Never good.

If there was a dub/instramental of Your Everything on offer, then yeah. As it is – despite the power of that bassline – gonna have to plump here instead for the straight-up retro house action of Fall Away From Love, which doesn't re-write any rule books or anything but does have some great Italo house-style stabs.

Out: This week

About: This comes on UK label Hot Creations (website here) but Danny Daze is actually from Miami, and you can check out more of his shizzle on Soundcloud.