Hot Natured's last single 'Forward Motion' was the seductive summer anthem of 2011. Since then the founding members of Hot Natured, Jamie Jones and Lee Foss, have been joined by Ali Love and Luca C (from the duo Infinity Ink). The quartet has been locked away in writing sessions in Los Angeles, London and Ibiza, with an album planned for spring 2013.
An artist with a rich history within modern house music and longstanding ties to Hot Creations, Ali Love makes his solo debut on the label with collaborator and Brazilian rapper Prince Andre. Ali takes on production duties here, and the result is a pretty unique slice of Brazilian hip house. ‘Da Da On’ brings a driving bassline, samba inspired percussion, whistles, and Prince Andre’s effervescent rhymes. This is an explosion of energy built for Carnaval. The dub highlights the track’s rolling drums and Carnaval atmosphere. Remixes are to follow on Hot Creations.
One of the premier songwriters of contemporary UK dance music, Ali Love has released material via Crosstown Rebels, Keinemusik, and Defected in recent times, and collaborated with The Chemical Brothers, Justice, Camelphat and Róisín Murphy, amongst many others. It was, of course, on Hot Creations, where Ali collaborated with Jamie Jones, Lee Foss and Luca C as Hot Natured, and whose ‘Benediction’ has now become a contemporary dance music classic. This is Ali Love’s long-awaited return to the imprint.
The Southern state’s musical giants have always had their own distinct recipe for
American roots: spiced with jazz, steeped in swamp-blues and cooked up a little
differently by every artist who performs it. As a second- generation child of the
Bayou State, Kenny Neal has taken his own inimitable guitar, gale-force harp and
roadworn voice all over the globe. But in 2022, the Grammy- nominated blues
master’s latest album, Straight From The Heart, finds him drawn by the siren call
of his hometown and musical ground zero, Baton Rouge.“This is the first album
I’ve ever recorded on my own turf, and it truly came straight from the heart,” says
Neal, who both led and produced a crack team of local musicians at his own
Brookstown Recording Studios. “All the tributaries of the blues converge here,
flowing into one rich tradition.”You’ll hear all of Neal’s travels in Straight From The
Heart, but this latest album brings it all back home in every sense. Lining up in the
studio alongside his Baton Rouge compadrés, the respect that Neal commands
on the scene also drew some special guests, including hot- tip blues sensation
Christone ‘Kingfish’ Ingram (who co-writes and plays stinger guitar on Mount Up
On The Wings Of The King), pop royalty Tito Jackson (on Two Timing) and two
songs with Rockin’ Dopsie Junior & The Zydeco Twisters. You’ll even hear Neal’s
supremely talented daughter Syreeta drive the vocal outro of Two Timing.“It was
like a family reunion,” says Neal of the good-natured sessions. “It was excellent
because I had all the musicians that grew up under me here in Baton Rouge. And
just being in my own studio, not worrying about the clock.”Straight From The
Heart is a fitting title for a record that salutes the many loves of Neal’s life.
There’s the brass-driven opener Blues Keep Chasing Me, which tips a hat to his
recently departed friend, Lucky Peterson. There’s the touching piano-led Someone
Somewhere, which salutes his beloved father, harp master Raful Neal, who put
him on this path. Elsewhere, Neal’s deep love for every side of his home state is
underlined by the zydeco chop of Bon Temps Rouler and New Orleans, whose
lyrics reference everything from “sippin’ on Hurricane” to “sittin’ on the Bayou
catching catfish”. Faced with such an open-hearted record, it’s impossible not to
reciprocate. And as the world opens up and Kenny Neal embraces his natural
habitat of the road, this Louisiana icon will bring a little bit of that Baton Rouge
spirit onto every stage he treads. “It don't cost nothing to share a little love and a
little respect,” he says. “And we can all rise above…”
Solimano returns to his Unlock Recordings imprint with two mellow house cuts, featuring a pair of imaginative reinterpretations from fellow Argentinean's Barem and Deep Mariano.
Originally established to promote Latin American productions in 2004, Unlock Recordings has since hosted the likes of Jorge Savoretti and Guti. Its founder, Gonzalo Solimano, has proven himself time again as a label owner, DJ and producer, working as a 'Mr. X' at Red Bull Academy for almost ten years when not performing at the likes of Creamfields Buenos Aires, South American Music Conference and Space World Tour.
'Learjet' is a low-slung groover complete with organic samples, bass guitar licks and a hypnotically looped vocal sample. Up first on remix duties, Minus regular Barem subdues the raw textures of the original to generate an understated rendition, whereas Get Slow founder Deep Mariano takes it down a percussive route where an infectious rhythm is accompanied by dub inspired synths. Finally, 'Calling Again' is a sensual deep house cut featuring the vocals of Sophie Taylor, known for her collaboration with Mathias Kaden, among many others.
Support by:
Hernan Cattaneo - Paco Osuna - Neil (Nail) - David Durango (David Durango, Poker Flat, Suara, Galaktika) - Stacey Pullen (Transmat (Detroit) - Rich Nxt (Fuse) - Hector Couto (Tribal Sessions) - Jorge Savoretti (Esperanza - Savor) - Alexi Delano (H Productions / Visionquest / M_Nus) - Rework (Visionquest / Items & Things / Loveyeah) - Martin Landsky (Poker Flat) - Leon (VIVa / Various) - Grant Dell (Giant Sound / Chicago Transit Authority) - NTFO (Diynamic) - Simone Giudici (Dirty Channels, Ovum, Hot Natured, Rebirth) Javi Bora (2020Vision / Hudd Traxx / Defected / Kehakuma) - Eddie Richards (Evil Eddie Richards)
