Mitch featuring Feadz & Uffie
Euro666 FAIS R€NTR€R L€S €UROS
This very limited edition offering on Mental Groove sees a spectacular clash of rap, rave and cut-up electro courtesy of newcomer Mitch (who’s a member of Digithugz with Soper & Shone). It’s also features vocals from production genius DJ Feadz and his other half and co-Ed Banger Uffie. In all honesty, I thought the Feadz/Uffie thing was beginning to get a bit samey, but Mitch has kicked new life into it with Euro666. The Feadz Vocal Mastermix brings together a more electro dancefloor feel, merging an old-skool rave vibe with fresh lyrics. The Soper Mastermix has a much darker hip hop feel, but even darker is the equally impressive DJ Raze Mastermix. With the vocals slowed right down and the use of delays as well as the continued old skool rave/rap sound, Raze ensures every track on this release is as impressive and playable as a collaboration with Feadz and Uffie should be. Ten out of ten for Mitch.
Out on Mental Groove
Virtualmismo
Mismoplastico
At first I feared this was going to be more tap-dripping, but Michal Ho’s Plastic Planet remix turned out to be a bit of a stomper, even though I’m not a fan of the vocals or the haunting Clangers-style sounds. However, there are some nice old rave-style jabs here, and they can be heard with to even great effect in Serge Santiago’s remix. The ex-Radio Slave man comes up trumps here with a proper hark back to the old skool, and he keeps a very fresh sound together with a different and better effect on the vocals. The result is a relentless track that’s sure to stand out and be a favourite in the clubs. The Shakedown remix is similar in style to Serge’s mix, but it doesn’t quite have the same edge as it focuses a bit more on the funky side of things. All in all though, not a bad release and something for almost everyone.
Out on Arcobaleno
Dan Ghenacia
Cycle/Garden
The whole minimal/tech house sound isn’t really my cuppa, and although Dan Ghenacia has impressed me in the past, I’m afraid I’m not feeling Cycle. The sound of taps dripping has never been something I’ve really enjoyed, and time after time I feel minimal and tech house producers use unusual effects such as these in their tracks at the expense of bass or feeling. Cycle does build and will probably be appreciated by the heads out there, but for me – like most other releases in that genre – it simply doesn’t do anything for me. Garden has some nice beats and could have been a bit more appealing, but I can’t help feeling there’s something a bit comedic about the six repeating keys and random fantasy-style noises that appear and disappear throughout.
Out on Freak N Chic
Marc Romboy Vs Tyree Cooper
Lost
There’s a slight tech house feel to this release, as you’d expect from Marc Romboy, but I’ve not heard much from him that’s not been quality. And given that Lost features the creator of Acid Crash, Tyree Cooper, it surely can’t go wrong. The original mix is a dark, jacking number with a nice bassline, beats and claps, and although I might not be overly keen on the vocals, this is another quality track that’s asking for a Mazi & Duriez work-out. And it gets one, resulting in a nice dubby style remix from the duo complete with intermittent 303 acid stabs and Tyree’s trippy “lost inside my mind” repeating over and over. The tough dub version completes what is another top release from Mr Romboy.
Out on Ovum
Gavin Herlihy
Opium Haze EP
I don’t know anymore about Gavin Herlihy other than these two tracks, but I think I soon will. At first I thought Opium Haze was going to be very experimental, but it has an almost tech/Chicago house feel to it which was a very nice surprise. There’s then a break with almost Far Eastern-style flutes before gradually, with the help of a dubbed echoed vocal, the tune gets back on track. On the flip, Professional Exit continues in the same vein. The production, it has to be said, is top class on both tracks. There’s lots going on without being overloaded, and there’s a nice blend of house, electro and experimental sounds. A single repeated female vocal along with tight high-hats and classic beats help this track to build. This is a solid release that will be getting played by a wide spectrum of DJs from deep house to electro and beyond.
Out on Kindisch
Jean Nippon & Orgasmic present…
Eurogirls Go To Baltimore Part 1
French promo label Arcade Mode’s new limited red vinyl release sees some of the top producers in Europe getting together to give their own slant on the BMore Gutter style. The eight tracks come from the likes of Kazey & Bulldog, Instutubes’ Bobmo, Jean Nippon & Orgasmic and Debonaire Samir (whose track PYT is also featured on Bmore don Arron LaCrate’s Now That’s What I Call Gutter Music Volume 1 album). And these eight tracks make this a very special party record indeed. Stand-out tunes are DJ Orgasmic’s Feels Like Saint Tropez – which unmistakably brings together the sound of France with the east coast of the US to produce a bomb of a rave/rap monster – DJ Tameil’s Throw Some D’s (Jean Nippon remix), Bobmo’s old skool Turn On, Cop Out and Round Table Nights’ new-skool work-out version of the Freak From Desire by Gala. Definitely an EP to get the party started.
Out on Arcade Mode
Cledus Snow
The Building Snowmen EP
This is a gem of an EP from Glasgow’s Cledus Snow on local label Andnotor. It’s actually been doing the rounds – and I imagine lots of damage – for a while now, but it’s well worth a mention. The original is a deep, bubbling Detroit-flavoured techno track that aptly motors on powered by a combination of tight high-hats, thumping beats and a purring, acid bass and trippy keys. This track could be even longer than the 10 minutes it lasts for and it still wouldn’t seem too long. It’s something of an epic in my opinion. On the flip, TJ Kong’s Motor City mix kicks off with some good stong drums and quickly sounds like a winner of a B-side when the bass punches in. It’s an impressive interpretation of the original and a well-produced number as an individual track – but the former is the stand-out track here.
Out on Andnotor
coming soon…
March 8: Inner City Acid presents Luke Vibert (Warp) @ the Soundhaus, Glasgow
Visit www.myspace.com/innercityacid and www.myspace.com/monsieur_delarge
