Drop Music Новости

Way back in 1998, following five years DJing and organising free parties as part of Sheffield's Smokescreen Soundsystem, Andy Riley and Laurence Ritchie joined forces in the studio as Inland Knights. They went on to deliver a huge amount of high-grade UK house music, but it was on this EP - here reissued for the first time in remastered form - that they first showcased their distinctively chunky, DIY-influenced sound. Check first the squelch-and-bump of soul-flecked late-night roller 'Mud Substance', before getting your ears around the dubby bass, hypnotic beats and spacey licks of 'Souldoubt'. 'Deep In' is a strutting, energetic affair full of raw analogue bass and mind-mangling effects, while 'Spent Up' is a tougher and looser slab of deep house funk.

Italy's Di Saronno (can you see what he did there? Almond liqueur? No?) drops a couple of nicely raw house jams here and the first one features Parris Mitchell. 'Street Walls' has swirling melodies lopping endlessly in the midst of big, lolloping kicks and chopped up vocals bring some playful vibes. 'Out Of Control' is more tight and tech-y - constructed under Di Saronno's Mindbuster alter-ego - with a jazz-inflected but tough MAW style groove and horns up top, adding a softer, more musical counter point. Last of all is Di Saronno's On The Rocks mix of a much loved Inland Knights tune, 'Like This', which flips it into a filter-heavy house jam with swing, jazz and the sort of energy you want in cosy back rooms.

Andy Riley and Laurence Ritchie are Drop Music accomplices; the label is a natural outgrowth of yesterday's Smokescreen Soundsystem, one of the oldest and best-respected UK crews to endorse (sound-) systems thinking. In case you don't know, remember this: they were early 90s stanchions of pressure-dropping UK house heft. This rare new reissue hears their hugely in-demand classic 'Party Criminals' return to fully swung, gatecrashing mode. And boy, weren't they just. Their fourth ever Drop drop, it first surfaced in 1999 and turned instant heads for its crystalline blue inners and jacking, organic sound, not to mention a cameo from fellow duo Freaked on the A2's 'Rhythm By Nature'. But our favourite has to be 'Make Me Feel' with its soft-attack hi-hats, not tapping, more fizzing like metal leaf against the ears.

Nottingham duo Andy Riley and Laurence Ritchie AKA Inland Knights, continue to celebrate a quarter of a century of Drop Music with a third special EP. This one features two utterly new and exclusive cuts - the first is 'Bad Situation', a brilliantly loose and soulful deep house sound with well-treated vocals, and the second is 'Some Lovin', a more raw and jacked-up cut but with magnificently elastic bass, funky riffs and old-school vocals. The steamy house throb of 'Slummin It' and twitch future tech of 'Get High' round out a fine EP from these enduring greats.

Drop Music marks a quarter of a century of reliable and ever-on-point sounds with a special series of EPs that embodies what it has always been about and offers up both classics and never-before-released tunes. This one kicks off with 'Make A Move' which is chunky low-slung tech. It unfolds at a relatively slow tempo but that gives the fat acid gurgles time to really hit. Inland Knights then serves up the next three cuts, starting with the bass bin bothering sounds of 'Push It', the more silky tech loops of 'Long Time' and the vocal-laced acid-tech swagger of 'Same Talk.' Here's to the next 25 years.

Drop Music marks a marvellous quarter of a century of releases with this new slab of vinyl featuring some gems from disco funksters Crazy P and the house mainstays Inland Knights. Crazy P go first with 'Disc Odyssey' which is perfectly indicative of their much beloved sound with its low slung kicks and funky bassline. Inland Knights then offer a trio of in demand & unreleased tracks. 'Overnight' is a bumming deep house joint, 'Walk On' has an icy late night vibe and balmy pads and 'Do It Again is a more playful closer, with some killer b-line action. All four, needless to say, are timeless gems, and the fact the last two are appearing on vinyl first the first time makes it an even more desirable cop.