Second release from Woody McBride's new imprint focused on the acid house revival. Featuring tracks from some of the biggest names in the techno and tech house world, Aciiieeed already features some quality contributions. Side A brings us "Ecstasy Express" a breaks-influenced, old school rocker from Brooklyn techno legend Frankie Bones, and "Ear Worm" from TJR, an aggressive, dark rocker. The flip features "Brush" from Montreal based Mateo Murphy and the stand out track here "Take Me Back." Long known as an old school Chicago house legend, Mystic Bill turns in a remarkably funky and compelling acid house mover. Hot from front to back.****(4 of 5)
Dance, Dance, Dance - Beats and Styles – Brickhouse (DE)
Bet you can't play this track without breaking a smile. Compelling
rhythms, old school funk bassline, deep keys and soulful vocals that
will compel you and your dancefloor to shake your groove thing, get
down with you bad self (insert any other clichéd old school phrases
you can think of here), etc. Want to set a party off? Find this
track and get the ball rolling. ****(4 of 5)
Mythomaniac EP – Gino S & Snake Plissken – Notorious Elektro (DE)
Hot, body rocking electro techno movers from the manic mind of
Stephane Deschezeaux (aka Gino S & Snake Plissken.) The title cut is
my favorite here and sets things off from the first note forward.
Compelling rhythms, dark industrial-flavored vocals and monstrous
bassline set things off and never let up. "F.L.A.D." kicks off Side B
with simple, minimal rhythms and a massively effective bassline that
will set any dancefloor off. Exceptional release. *****(5 of 5)
Blue Skies – Holmes feat Dragonfly – Deeplay Music (SE)
Another quality release from Sweden's finest house music label,
Deeplay Music. This release features the production talents of
Estonia-based Holmes and NYC-based vocalists Dragonfly, on four
amazing cuts. The "Original Mix" is a smooth, lush, Afrobeat affair
with lovely keys, funky percussion and a deep, sexy vibe throughout.
The standout cut on the B side is the "Martinez Cosmic Dub", with
lovely synths, hot to death bass and a groovy, West Coast vibe.
Amazing release. *****(5 of 5)
Phobia EP – Andre Walter – Enable (DE)
The string of quality tracks continues for Mr. Walter here on this
body-rocking, foundation-shaking 3-track EP for Brian Sanhaji's,
Enable Recordings. The track that really does it for me here
("Mantis"), is a straight ahead, take no prisoners destroyer that
kicks from the first note to the last and absolutely destroys anything
in its path. Not for the faint of heart, this is more quality techno
from the boys from Frankfurt. ***(3 of 5)
Klick – Mark Broom – Pure Plastic (UK)
Another exceptional release from the Pure Plastic crew brings us 3
tracks of rocking, soulful techno movers. "Klick' is up first and
features the ever consistent Mark Broom teaming up with long time
cohort, Rocky Saunders. Old school bassline, compelling percussion
and a ton of deep, slow-building flavor combine to make this a truly
outstanding Detroit style rocker. The flip features "Void" from
Sir-loin and "Blinded by Cod", an uplifting, tech house groove from
Broom and Chris Baker. ****(4 of 5)
Ca Poios EP – Peter Gual – Manuke (UK)
Absolutely rocking 4-track EP from the crew at Manuke in the UK. The
theme throughout is "hard and Latin flavored," and newcomer Peter Gual
does it as well as anyone in the recent past. The standout track here
for my money is "Mes Que Mai," a straightforward, ass-shaking, funky
techno mover with compelling percussion, dark undertones and enough
power to light up a small city. ****(4 of 5)
