It is nuts to think it’s been more than a decade since Borrowed Identity burst onto the scene, and that verbiage is not PR speak for “made a record you might have heard of.” This guy was seemingly everywhere, all at once, dropping records on DVS1’s Mistress, Circus Company, Home Taping Is Killing Music and the best Chicago house label of the decade, Stripped & Chewed. He was also just randomly dropping sets in your neighborhood and other people’s neighborhoods, like Berghain and Watergate.
Of course it is the last decade we’re talking about — Stripped & Chewed hasn’t released a record since 2019. And while Borrowed Identity didn’t go totally silent, the releases and appearances have been fairly infrequent since COVID interrupted everyone’s well-laid plans.
Lest anyone forget about him, he’s back on Quintessentials (home of his EPs Love For Sale, Sexo Bonito and Red Light Jackers) with frequent collaborator Mechanical Soul Brother.
Set It All Free is made up of two tracks and a whale of a title track that might be big enough to make the plastic bend. “Another Chance” leads off with skipping, groovy deep house, with sharp and shiny percussion drenched in soul from short sampled vocal clips and strings. Intensely moody shit for early in a set.
At 8:11 “Art of Disclosure” takes its time to get into gear, with a dizzying mix of samples and clips creating a lush, psychedelic and stoned deep house groover. That would be notable for its length until you get to the title track, which measures a 9.5 on the Ain’t No Mountain High Enough scale. Borrowed Identity and Mechanical Soul Brother pour it all into “Set It All Free” — every strut, every groove, held together by sheer attitude and love for the sound they’re making. It’s probably too long for streaming, but seeing that nobody other than Spotify executives are making Spotify millions off this shit anyway, everyone should view the “best practices” of 21st century streaming platforms and then take a sledgehammer to them.
This is pure, life affirming house music from one of our most-loved duos.
⚪️ Set It All Free Tracklisting
Borrowed Identity & Mechanical Soul Brother: Set It All Free EP (Quintessentials / 12" Vinyl + Digital)
1. Another chance (08:19)
2. Art of disclosure (08:11)
3. Set it all free (14:44)
⚪️ Disclosure Statement
This record was not submitted as a promo.
⚪️ Previous Coverage
❇ Features: Born Into This: Chicago House with Stripped & Chewed Records (2019)
✳ New Music: Premiere: Andy Ash feat. Faber – Life [Quintessentials] (2022)
✳ New Music: Alton Miller is a man of powerful magic on Essentials Ya Dig (2022)
✳ New Music: From Hell With Love: 5 Years of Lumberjacks in Hell (2015)
✳ New Music: Stripped and Chewed: Love for the Gang (2013)
5 Mag Issue 220
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MADE IN CHICAGO: First published in 5 Mag Issue #220 featuring Jamie 3:26, Ryan Sadorus, Alexander Flood, James Duncan on Canada’s Collective Rhythm Network and more. Become a member for $2/month and get every issue in your inbox right now…
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[…] Re-Up w/ Mr. G Remix (Hotflush), Alex Arnout presents Black Logic: Breathe More (Music For Freaks), Borrowed Identity & Mechanical Soul Brother: Set It All Free (Quintessentials), V/A: Covalence Series Vol 1 (Molecular Recordings), DJ Haus: Humanoid (Unknown […]