"Show
Me"
Angel Civilles
H.O.L.A. Recordings
Johnny
Vicious, one of New York's most consistent DJ/remixers, has
been blowing up worldwide lately. Once again he is showing
us his innovative and cutting-edge skills at melding hard
pulsating beats, melodic trance-style synth keys and thrilling
female vocals. The end product this time is a mind-blowing
remix to a classic freestyle vocal re-sung by the original
lead singer of the Cover Girls, Angel Civilles. This is a
classic vocal that is going to be the bomb all over again!
For more info, call (212) 777-5678.
-Shawn
Christopher
"Mutual"
Dauby
Whirling
A
gripping dance venture transformed to perfection by remixers
Noel W. Sanger and Johnny Vicious, "Mutual" is a
house music winner. Sanger's interpretation is a gradual building
process that layers passionate, textured sounds over a bed
of punchy beat patterns and tight drum rolls. Vicious' translation
of the tune captures more of Dauby's alternative vocal flair
with a higher state of energetic conscience. An explosive
presentation. 135 BPM. For more information, contact (305)
531-6080.
- Peter
A. Colón
Soul Survivor
Pete
Rock
Loud/RCA
On
his solo bow, the legendary Rock proves he's still in control
behind the boards. Crisp drums and crackling horn loops
wrap around the first single, "Tru Master," where
old school meets the new in Kurupt and Inspectah Deck. Rock
puts his E-Mu SP 1200 through a workout on "#1 Soul
Brother," meshing together a half-dozen samples and
proving his sonic palette has every bit the reach as RZA's.
Head bobbin' for those who have been in the game.
—
Brian O'Connor
"Summer's Over"
Deep
Dish
YoshiToshi
Deep
Dish explodes with the second slammin' release from their
terrific album Junk Science. With a deep, pulsating
bassline and extremely powerful samples _ some even sounding
like a spaceship is flying over your head _ and a number of
similar sounds that hit you hard from every direction, "Summer's
Over" is spectacular. This is an epic track that is a
magical mix of hard and deep progressive house. Please don't
miss out! For more information call (703) 212-0878.
-
Shawn Christopher
"Going
Out of My Mind"
Lectroluv
'99
Empire
State|
A
massive production served to us by Fred Jorio, the man who
brought us the classic Sound Factory anthem "Dream Drums."
This track has piercing tech-house synth keys and funky rolling
bass accompanied by unique riveting percussion sounds and
a New York hard-house feel. The "Lectrodrums Mix"
is stripped-down, straight-up, slammin' tribal beats. Make
sure you check this one out.
-
Shawn Christopher
"Bring
Back The Funk"
Twin
Stoneyboy/Waako
Twin's
track is a crisp presentation of chunky house beats and sporadic
vocal stabs wrapped in a misty cloud of filtered funkiness
_ with an ensemble of rolling drum riffs and discofied guitar
licks thrown in for good measure. A late-night appetizer for
the 3 a.m. crowd. 130 BPM. For more information, contact (212)
944-2590.
-
Peter A. Colón
"Lights"
Open
Door
Hipbone Records
You
can't miss out on this beautiful deep house record. The "World
Style Glow Mix" shines with a smooth and crafty guitar
played by Adam Scott and a soothing melodic scat-type vocal
sung by Miss Vicki Bell. Together they create a track that
is smooth deep soulful house at it's finest. For more info,
call (212) 982-2867.
-
Shawn Christopher
"Go
Round-n-Round"
Victor
Victorious
Big Bang
Out
of Beantown, this 4/4 workout navigates through tweaky acid
lines, sweeping midi strings and classic disco stomp. The
flipside "Atmoshperix" mix brandishes an old-school
hip-hop shout-out intro, minimal synth meltdown, looped diva
vocal, and fluttering house acid lines among the breaks. The
return of hip-house. (617) 630-9169.
-
Brian O'Connor
"Africa"
Plasmic
Honey
METROpolitan Underground
New
York producers Plasmic Honey who first "took us to the
top," now take us back to "Africa" with a deep
dark vocal that explains, "It began in Africa."
This track features anthemic builds, crisp and melodic New
York hard-house-type synth keys, a rhythmic flowing bassline
and wicked tribal percussion that will knock you on your ass.
Don't sleep on this one! For more information call (973) 483-8080.
-
Shawn Christopher
My
First CD
United
DJs of America, Vol. 11: Cevin Fisher
DMC
DJs
into groovy house with a kickin' New York flavor would do
well to pick up this gem of a mix-CD. Dropping his own club
hits "The Freaks Come Out" and "House Music"
and club anthems like Submission's "Women Beat Their
Men" and Wet Dreams' "Sunrise," Fisher turns
out the grooves on this 70-minute journey to Manhattan's
late-night scene. Great mixing and terrific selections.
-
Jim Tremayne
Jump
Up Drum `N Bass
Various
Artists
Master Dance Tones (UK)
A
collective of sounds taken from the UK's underground, Jump
Up contains nine proven hits sure to satisfy most of
your drum-n-bass needs. Kapricorn starts thing off with
"Comin' Down," an outing that rides high on a
diet of bright trash-can beats and scattered samples set
to a watery bassline. Twisted gets slap-happy on "Gotcha,"
a chipper tune that gets its charm from a walking bass riff
that just won't quit. Shifty and Tricksta round out the
package nicely with a moody beat kicker they have aptly
dubbed, "Drop The Funk." Your fix is here. For
more information, contact MDT's US distributor at (800)
728-4000.
-
Peter A. Colón
Small
Town Underground
Kevin
Yost
Twisted
Along
with Wamdue Project's Chris Brann, King Street's Joe Clausell
and Ovum's King Britt, Newark's Kevin Yost has become a
leader among the smart wave of DJ/producers bent on flying
the smooth-tip house flag. Perhaps a little funkier than
most, Yost drops beats that rarely stray into wafty ambientland;
instead, they kick New York-tribal or Detroit-minimal underneath
gorgeous, jazz-based melodies while rumbling, percolating
basslines keep the booties shaking. An intoxicating mix-CD
of underground flavors, sharp remixes and ace original material,
Small Town Underground is an excellent introduction
for DJs into the world of Kevin Yost, one of America's most-inventive
house music producers.
- Jim Tremayne
"Guided
by the Beat"
The
Bushmen
Empire State Records
John
Creamer unleashes a straight-up, pounding tribal track with
a short female vocal that's nicely placed on unexpected parts
of the beats. You can mix this on top of another track, use
the beats to bring in a vocal or throw an a cappella over
it. The possibilities are limitless. A must-have track and
a DJ tool. For info, call (212) 337-1414.
- Shawn Christopher
Mixed Emotional Features
Mocean
Worker
Palm
Pictures
Breakbeats
with a Neville Brothers sample? Consider me interested. Mr.
Mocean Worker (aka Adam Dorn) delivers on that funkified track
("Jello Dart") and many others with an album that
stretches
the musical boundaries of what we're used to hearing in clubland.
From the get-deep opening track "René M"
through the clanging d-n-b "Detonator," the percussive
workout "Mycroft" and the cloudy trip hop "Heaven
@ 12:07," Mixed Emotional Features never stands
still and stays interesting throughout. Think The Shamen's
Hempton Manor, think Eric Kupper's K-Scope work. Super
grooves for the head and the dancefloor.
-
Jim Tremayne
"There
Goes Your Heart"
Caprice
Finetune/Nu Gruv Alliance
Based
on a combination of electro-dance and rhythmic soul stylings,
this highly captivating crowd motivator has everything it
takes to pull a party out of the doldrums. From the song's
intoxicating melody to its catchy sing-along chorus and subtle
old-school synth score, producers Robert and Monk have built
a gem around Caprice's wonderful vocal performance. A showcase
of pure fun. 135 BPM. For more information, contact (973)
471-9018.
-
Peter A. Colón
MasterMix
Volume 2
Adam
X
Wax Trax
Kudos
to Wax Trax for the second in a series of mix CDs from DJs
who played a part in dance music's evolution. The first,
a Juan Atkins mix, recognized the pervasive influence administered
by the Detroit techno founders; this one does the same for
the New York crew, all of whom _ Frankie Bones, Joey Beltram,
Lenny D _ at first carried on in the Detroit tradition before
moving onto harder fare. On this Adam X mix, a Kevin Saunderson
track ("E-Dancer") and a Carl Craig remix of Kenny
Larkin ("Catatonic") trace the New York scene's
origins. On the handful of Sonic Groove tracks _ the New
York label founded by Bones, Adam X's brother — Adam
X demonstrates where it went from there.
-
Brian O'Connor
