Peplab - Drive

Hot off the press is a brand spankin’ new release from the ever popular Neurodisc Records, who bring forth four dance music vets partnered up to give an uplifting breath into house music. Peplab is a melding of funky, disco house, hardcore techno, and electro that just makes you feel so good. The group began with Ferry Ridderhof and Peter Garnfski who in the mid nineties produced “Doop.” While attending The Royal Conservatory in lovely Den Hauge the pair teamed up with Hans Weekhout, composer of the techno classic “20 Hz”, and Edward Boellaard with his screwed Blackburst hard-house sounds. What resulted is an awesome blend of house, electro, pop and just about whatever else you can throw in as long as it’s not expected.

From the start “Drive” proves to be a very different album. The opener “Wondergirl” has a beautifully constructed house beat, with a soothing guitar riff and silky smooth vocals. It’s such a great song that there is four remixes dedicated to it on the cd. Al Boom chimes in with his soulful house stance, Superfly puts it into a trance, Who the F=F takes us to a deeper and darker “Wondergirl” and Nu Mania rounds it out with an NRG pounder. What a great song indeed!

Once I finally changed the track from “Wondergirl” I found a multitude of delicious tracks. “Lucky Lucky” funked it up with a disco vocal and a very happy feel. So three days later I found out that there was even more tracks on this soon to be classic disc. Tuning into “Saturdays” sounds exactly what Tuesdays sound like to me. They slow it down and give up a chillin flow of vocals that make you drift away. The pace comes around full tilt on “Mr. Psychorock”. This electro-fied me with robot vocals (always a favorite with me) and a pounding hard bassline that will have you cutting a rug wherever you hear it.

The cd ends with the track “Seven Inch Heels”which has an almost hip-hop, funky ass, don’t take no sh!t bassline that makes me want to lace up my skates and go to town. It will leave you wanting more, trust me. “Drive” is the introduction of Peplab to the US and it is nothing short of brilliant. If “Drive” is a representation of 2004, bring it on!!!