It’s Robert Hood’s World and We’re Just Living In It
So this is how it went: Robert Hood returned to Movement in May, dropped the remixes of the best track on the debut Floorplan album, Paradise, the week of, and then backslapped the masses...
Jenifa Mayanja and Dakini9: Heading Into Tomorrow/Polarity Shift (Sound Warrior)
Hakim Murphy turned me on to a ton of great records in the year he was writing for 5 Magazine. His review of Jenifa Mayanja's full length Walking In The Shadows LP was such...
Now and Then: Ten Years of Hudd Traxx
Hudd Traxx turns ten in 2015, and part one of their landmark anniversary compilation packs one hell of a wallop.
It's easy, as we all know, to release records like you're making a festival flyer:...
Harry Wolfman & Laurence Guy: The Lone Grazer EP
Having just heard the sad news that the brilliant Lost My Dog Records are to close their doors in 2015, I must confess that writing this review feels bittersweet to say the least. Young...
Afrikan Sciences: Means and Ways EP
Seriously, I almost flipped my wig when I first heard the tunes on this 12" from Oakland's Eric Douglas aka Afrikan Sciences. This is soundscaping at work as unique waveforms are presented with three...
Boo Williams: Looney Chunes Vol 1 / Back To The Future
Color me amazed. New label Contemporary Scarecrow has planted a foot firmly in the scene by dragging several classic Boo Williams compositions out of the cobwebs and blending them with four brand new cuts....
Specter: The Gooch (Sound Signature)
This is like reading the back of a pack of Chinese firecrackers: light quickly and run away. Drop the needle anywhere, at any point on any of the three tracks of Specter's new EP...
Lee Mills – Hands Together (Fresh Meat Records)
I can mark time by Fresh Meat's records. I've written more about this label than any other, and the last five or six years has seen the beginning and end of relationships, friendships, personal...
Gunnar Haslam: Scale No Flam
Scorching serving of acid from The Bunker, Mike Servito, Justin Cudmore and Gunnar Haslam.
NY’s Finest: I Can’t Wait Till Tonight (Traxx Underground)
Yikes, I had no idea this was Victor Simonelli when I first heard it - actually, not an inkling until getting ready to write this up. NY's Finest is one of Simonelli's many aliases...
Gene Farris Is On 100
Gene Farris is one of the Chicago mainstays that proves that hard work and the inability to stay still will reward you to no end. His Farris Wheel Recordings just unveiled its 100th release,...
Various: Delusions of Grandeur 50
On first listen the Delusions of Grandeur 50th release brings to mind several descriptors like spacey, mysterious, smooth, funky, weird, super sexy, quirky and groovy. After listening a few more times I'd add...
T. Mixwell: Grit Grime
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"Grit Grime" and that says it all. Chicago's T. Mixwell's EP (really a single and a remix) on Sugar Shack Recordings is streetwise and whip-smart, operating somewhere way...
Won Hunnid: thatmanmonkz on Delusions of Grandeur
Scott Moncrieff (aka thatmanmonkz) hasn't released an average record yet. I mean that: from the first time I heard from him a couple of years back, he's been churning out superb releases, both his...
Brodanse featuring Cari Golden: Activate (Danse Club)
Of all the self-declared archivists sifting through the silt and sand of classic Deep House, Danse Club established itself right quick with several cuts remixed and reissued with a degree of respect you'll never...
Block35 featuring Thane: Carolina Blue
Carolina Blue is an LP existing somewhere at the intersection a Billy Ocean TV special and the credit roll of a Cinemax erotic thriller.
Cajmere and Wayne Williams: Acid House (Cajual)
After Cajmere recently remixed Wayne William's single, "You The Feeling" for Maurice Joshua on his Nu Soul label, he must've sparked the idea for this release. It's not groundbreaking but it gets the job...
Stealing Sunrise 2: Malibu Trail (Night Runner)
A synthwave soundtrack for an actual movie, Night Runner's scored pieces and various additional tracks powerfully evoke the mid-1990s American landscape.
The Nathaniel X Project: Excavation EP
Deep House must surely be the most muddled musical grouping around these days; the phrase seems to stumble around lost, like an embarrassingly drunk and slightly unhinged colleague at last month's office party. This...
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Dance Loud: This Moment & The Next
Chicago electronic music duo Dance Loud survived adversity to release their best work. After "The Moment," they're just getting started.
