New Label Level E Launches with We Roar/Killer
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DJ/Producer J Lektro and songwriter/vocalist Patty Plezhur of Pleazhurhouse have a new label, called Level E. The new imprint debuts in collaboration with Jerry C. King of Kingdom...
Anaxander: A 5 Mag Mix vol 24
I saw the name "Anaxander" about a thousand times before I heard his records. That's a slight exaggeration, but only a little one.
Anaxander has released a spectacular series of records, including From the Dirty...
Occidental: Pariah Dreams
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There was a time when Acid could be sleazy, when Techno could be something other than "angry" or "ponderous" or sound like the soundtrack for a silent film...
Paolo Rocco: Not Scared
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Paolo Rocco has been operating in my periphery for a number of years now. When I read his bio and saw the words "DJ's DJ" I immediately clicked...
Justin Harris: The Future is Past
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xuLKGK4JrtI
I love that in this underground of ours, you have to earn your stripes. Longevity is not something taken lightly and with it comes respect. Through the process of grinding and putting in work,...
The Best of Lumberjacks In Hell
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I think I've written about most of these, some in the context of calling Lumberjacks In Hell "the best Chicago dance music label not based in Chicago." I'm...
Monosoul: Early Bird
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There is some seriously great deep house being released just in time for the warmer weather. I highly recommend taking Monosoul's Early Bird EP with you wherever...
Nicholas: Bonus Beats Vol 1
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Has it really been this long? I looked through all of my records and write-ups and when that failed I fell back to Googling, and it seems it's...
Frankie Knuckles’ Dancefloor Beasts
DEL compiles a selection of dancefloor "beauties" and dancefloor "beasts" from the illustrious career of Frankie Knuckles for his Foundations series. These are the beasts!
Related: Foundations' Reflections on Frankie Knuckles.
Related: Frankie Knuckles' Dancefloor Beauties.
Frankie...
Salt’s Franck White EP
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Release number 14 on the fantastic Slow Town label is Salt's Franck White EP, possibly named after an obscure Danish Blues musician but more likely after a notorious...
N’Dinga Gaba: The 5 Magazine Interview
In a climate where "hot" new music trends seem to be introduced to the world every few months like a high-street store's new fashion line, artists who are steadfastly doing their own thing stand...
Miguel Campbell Drops the Memoirs LP
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This is "evocative of the era of French Touch," according to the 1000 blogs that Cntrl+C/Cntrl+V'd directly from the one-sheet for Miguel Campbell's forthcoming album, Memoirs.
They're not...
Kenny Dope and the Return of Dopewax
He's best known for partnering with Louie Vega in Masters at Work, but that's just one entry in a long list of Kenny "Dope" Gonzalez's career highlights. He's also collaborated with Vega in MAW's...
Lovebirds ft. MINAKO: Delusions EP
Sebastian Doering (aka Lovebirds) has something new in his workshop and has invited you in for a sneak preview. I first read about this project back in the Fall and his (first?) collaboration with...
Lay-Far’s How I Communicate (Remixes)
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Lay-Far's How I Communicate LP propelled a tidal wave of acclaim from DJs and publications, including two reviews submitted by the staff of the magazine you're reading.
Buried...
Adrian (UK): Broke Beats EP
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Barcelona resident Adrian (UK) has come correct by turning what would otherwise be a chill out record into something interesting and very danceable. He's infused Deep House grooves...
youANDme & Tim Toh: About You/Listen To
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I like these guys. youANDme drop a sleazy fuzz bomb on Nervous Records - a split recording with no remixes and no filler. With a swing of chords...
Frankie Knuckles’ Dancefloor Beauties
DEL compiles a selection of dancefloor "beauties" and dancefloor "beasts" from the illustrious career of Frankie Knuckles for his Foundations series. Part one: The Beauties. The Beasts will follow next week.
Related: Foundations' Reflections on...
Ewan Jansen: Country Music EP
I never dreamed I'd associate the words "country music" with Chez Damier, but Balance Recordings' latest sublabel (presided over by Portuguese protege Jorge Caiado) makes a running gag of the expression for their second...
Nathan Drew Larsen: Prairie Path Frustration
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I spent every summer holiday between 1985 and 1992 on the Illinois Prairie Path, a trail built over old railroad tracks that winds through the Chicago suburbs. Used...
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Library of Congress adds Jamie Principle’s “Your Love” to National Recording Registry
The classic of classic Chicago house tracks was selected for preservation as one of "the defining sounds of history and culture." Here's how it was made.






























